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Musk says AI's most likely path is abundance and universal high income

September 29, 2026 at 20:30 EDT

Policy & Regulation
Robotics

Elon Musk said Tuesday that the most likely outcome of advanced artificial intelligence is an age of abundance with universal high income, not only universal basic income. Speaking to reporters after a White House meeting with technology executives, he said robots and superintelligence could give everyone better medical care than anyone in the room, including him, and that the future worth dwelling on is one people would want.

September 29, 2026 · White House

Abundance, not a basic stipend

Elon Musk told reporters the most likely AI outcome is an age of abundance with universal high income, and medical care better than anyone in the room has now.

A week of work, in his telling

Each block is about 10 hours. The short column is the top of his 40 to 50 hour human week. The tall column is a robot's 168 hours, including a shorter top block for the last 8.

40–50

Hours people work

168

Hours a robot works

A robot week is more than three times a 50-hour human week, with no sleep and no retirement.

1B+

Humanoid robots

His forecast within 10 years, probably sooner

10%

Bad-outcome chance

The risk he says is no reason to relax

None

Check amount set

No sum, eligibility rule, or start date

The case he makes

Care and plenty. Robots plus superintelligence could give everyone better medicine than the people beside him.

Jobs change, as human calculation already did. If goods outrun money, higher payments need not mean higher prices.

The objection

No paycheck, no plan. A reporter's reply was that care does not help people without a job.

No dollar figure or date is attached. Critics say gains may pool at the top, and scarce luxuries would remain.

What would have to be true

He calls the beneficial case the one worth planning for.

Supply. Goods and services must grow faster than the money supply, or the checks he describes would inflate prices.

Law. Congress would have to authorize any Treasury payments. None are written down.

Risk. He still puts a bad outcome at about 10 percent, and says that chance is why the technology needs watching.

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