Elon Musk Predicts AI Dominance and Economic Shift by 2036

During a 90-minute interview with The Economist at a Tesla factory in Texas, Elon Musk predicted that artificial intelligence will surpass the combined intelligence of all humans within five years. He claims that within a decade, digital intelligence and humanoid robots will create an era of extraordinary abundance, producing more goods and services than humans can consume and rendering traditional money insignificant by 2036.

To manage this transition, Musk suggested a shift toward universal high income to address mass job losses. He warned that attempting to maintain complete control over such intelligence would be hubris, estimating a 10% to 20% risk that killer robots could destroy humanity. He proposed a self-regulatory framework where leading AI labs, including those in China, perform mutual audits of models before release to ensure safety.

Musk also addressed geopolitical and social instability, predicting a civil war in Britain within 20 years due to conflicting beliefs regarding Western values. On the political front, he reflected on his role as a senior advisor and co-head of the Department of Government Efficiency—which ended operations on July 4, 2026—admitting he became too involved in politics. Additionally, he expressed a willingness to resolve his legal disputes with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman for the global good and supported territorial concessions to Russia to end the invasion of Ukraine.