Every few months, Elon Musk drops a statement that sounds less like a CEO and more like a sci-fi monk.
Money will become irrelevant.
People won’t need to work in the future.
AI will do everything.
Interesting. Especially coming from the richest man on Earth.
Before we roll our eyes, let’s pause.
Musk isn’t rambling.
He’s talking in the context of AI, automation, and abundance.
His argument is simple: when machines can produce goods and services at near-zero marginal cost, scarcity fades.
If everything is abundant, money which exists to manage scarcity – loses its meaning.
In theory, it’s elegant. In practice, it’s messy.
The Context Musk Isn’t Wrong About
Automation will eliminate many forms of work.
AI will outperform humans in repetitive, analytical, even creative tasks.
Universal Basic Income will become a necessity, not a socialist fantasy.
So yes, the nature of work will change.
People may not need to work to survive.
But that doesn’t mean people will stop wanting status, freedom, influence, and power.
And that’s where the “money won’t matter” theory starts wobbling.
Here’s the Uncomfortable Truth
Money doesn’t just buy survival.
Money buys optionalities.
It buys freedom from consequences.
It buys time.
It buys choice.
Even in a world of abundance, not everyone will live the same life. Someone will still decide:
– Who owns the AI?
– Who controls the platforms?
– Who sets the rules of abundance?
And spoiler alert – that someone won’t be the guy who decided money no longer matters.
Work Won’t Disappear. Meaning Will Matter More.
People won’t stop working. They’ll stop working only for survival. They’ll work for identity, purpose, relevance, and recognition.
The future won’t be money-less.
It will be meaning-heavy and inequality-sensitive.
Those who own intelligence will still own leverage.
Those who don’t will be given comfort – not control.
The Socialist Echo in the Silicon Valley Promise
Interestingly, Musk’s vision sounds suspiciously familiar to students of political philosophy. In theory, AI-led abundance is capitalism accidentally fulfilling a socialist dream.
But history offers a cautionary footnote as we underestimate one thing: human desire for hierarchy. Every attempt at enforced equality eventually created a new elite. In today’s version, that elite won’t be in uniform; they’ll be platform owners, algorithm gods, and data barons. The system may promise equality, but power will quietly centralize – just with better branding.
So yes, Musk’s future echoes socialist ideals. But it may execute like hyper-capitalism wearing a hoodie labeled “abundance.”
Money may become less about survival.
But it will never stop being about power.
And that will always matter.