Elon Musk says AI might make retirement savings obsolete—here’s what we know
Saving for post-work life is pointless credit to the impending “supersonic tsunami” of AI and robotics, which will bring about a world of zero scarcity, according to Elon Musk.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, while speaking on the podcast show Moonshots with Peter Diamandis last week, said, “Don’t worry about squirreling money away for retirement in 10 or 20 years. It won’t matter.”
Could retirement savings become pointless in future?
Musk said that long-term financial planning for retirement may no longer be an essential thing if the technological progress he anticipates materializes.
He suggested not stressing over retirement savings, as future systems could cover all needs automatically.
“One like-side recommendation I have is don’t worry about squirreling money away for retirement,” Musk said, adding that in 10 to 12 years, saving for retirement could become irrelevant if the predictions he and others have made prove accurate.
His argument rests on the idea that AI and robotics will provide such large productivity gains that access to essential services and income will no longer depend on individual savings.
His central claim is that AI and robotics will generate such immense productivity that access to essentials and income won’t require personal savings.
In his own words, “I think we’re going to end up beyond abundance—beyond what people possibly could think of as abundance.”
It is not the first time Musk has floated the idea of AI taking over human jobs, in fact, he previously appeared in an interview with U.S. Senator Ted Cruz.
In that conversation, he said that goods and services in the future would be nearly free due to the scale and efficiency of robotic production.
Goods and services will become close to free,” Musk said, explaining that tens of billions of robots could eventually produce anything people need or want at minimal cost.