At the US–Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, a gathering marked by geopolitical significance and massive tech ambitions, Elon Musk made one of his most sweeping predictions yet:
AI and humanoid robots will eliminate poverty, reshape economies, and make traditional work “optional” within the next 10–20 years.
“Poverty is an engineering problem,” Musk declared, sharing a clip of his talk on X. Sitting alongside global leaders—including US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman—Musk outlined a future where advanced AI systems and human-like robots overhaul society at its roots.
Work Will Become a Choice, Not a Necessity
Musk’s central claim was simple—and radical:
“My prediction is that work will be optional.”
According to him, rapid progress in general-purpose humanoid robots will take over most labor tasks—physical, cognitive, or routine. Work will become similar to playing sports or gardening: something people choose to do, not something forced by economic survival.
He illustrated this with a simple comparison:
You can grow vegetables in your backyard even though the supermarket exists. It’s harder—but people do it because they enjoy it.
Likewise, work will shift from economic obligation to personal interest, passion, or creative expression.
A Future Where Money Doesn’t Matter?
In one of the more provocative parts of his speech, Musk claimed:
“Money will stop being important or relevant in the future. Currency becomes irrelevant.”
In a world where robots generate abundance—manufacturing goods, providing services, producing food, running logistics—the scarcity that underpins traditional economics disappears. Musk envisions a post-scarcity world where wealth is no longer concentrated but manufactured at scale through automation.
“AI and Human Robots Will Eliminate Poverty”
Musk doubled down on his belief that AI is the greatest wealth generator in human history.
He said:
"There’s only basically one way to make everyone wealthy, and that is AI robotics.”
Humanoid robots, he predicted, won’t be limited to Tesla. Many companies will innovate in this space, creating a competitive ecosystem that accelerates adoption and reduces cost—much like smartphones today.
If robots can perform nearly every job, the cost of labor drops to near zero. As a result, the price of goods and services could collapse, making quality of life dramatically easier to sustain.
A Forum Aligned Around AI — With Trillions at Stake
Musk’s remarks came during a moment when the United States is tying its strategic and economic future to AI more aggressively than ever. The presence of Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang—the man behind the chips powering the global AI boom—added weight to the moment.
President Trump stated that the US aims to create:
“The largest, most powerful, most innovative AI ecosystem in the world.”
The Saudi Crown Prince backed this vision with a staggering USD 1 trillion investment commitment, much of it aimed at turning Saudi Arabia into a global AI data hub.
Jensen Huang Offers a More Grounded Take
While Musk imagined a world where work disappears and money fades, Huang offered a more measured view:
“Everybody’s jobs will be different. I think that’s for sure.”
He agreed AI would reshape work—but stopped short of declaring the end of employment itself.
When Trump asked Huang whether any country could rival Nvidia’s Blackwell generation of AI chips, Huang responded confidently:
“Not yet, sir.”
So, What Does This Future Really Look Like?
Musk’s optimism paints a future defined by:
- Abundant production through AI & robotics
- Collapse of labor-driven economics
- Work as a choice, not compulsion
- A world not driven by scarcity or money
- Poverty solved as a technical—not social—problem
It’s a stunning vision, one that could redefine civilization.
But it also raises important questions:
- Who controls the robots?
- How is wealth redistributed during the transition?
- What happens to identity, purpose, and meaning when work disappears?
- Can policy and society evolve fast enough to manage such disruption?
One thing is clear—whether or not Musk’s 20-year timeline holds, the era of AI-powered humanoid robots has already begun. And it is poised to shape the next chapter of global economics, labor, and human life itself.