Elon Musk on money and the future of work

In a wide-ranging podcast episode with entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath, business tycoon Elon Musk spoke about his outlook on business, wealth, and politics. Here are some key takeaways

Dec 01, 2025, 15:42 IST1 min

1/5

Musk has a large foundation but doesn’t put his name on it. He believes it is easy to give money away but to have a tangible impact on people’s lives through philanthropy is the hard part.

2/5

In the future money could lose its relevance as people can have everything they want. “If I am on an island with a trillion dollars it is not worth anything.” Musk termed energy (solar, electricity etc) as the only true currency.

3/5

Musk contrasted this with the concept of universal basic income and argued that with the advances in AI and robotics soon everyone will have everything they need.

4/5

In an era where everyone has what they could possibly want Musk equates working with a hobby - something one does because one wants to and not because one has to. (He didn’t see himself working less though - if you want to create a company that does great things you have to put in the hours.)

5/5

AI and robotics will cause a drastic increase in the output of goods and services leading to a fall in prices. Musk expects this to happen in three years.