Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO, Elon Musk, said that the world is heading toward a future where traditional employment becomes obsolete, as rapid progress in artificial intelligence and robotics fundamentally reshapes the global economy.
‘Working Will Be Optional’ In 20 Years
Appearing on the People By WTF podcast on Sunday, the billionaire entrepreneur said that the pace of technological acceleration will allow most people to stop working entirely, speaking to host Nikhil Kamath, the co-founder of Zerodha, India’s discount stockbroking platform.
“Well, I think it’ll actually be that people don’t have to work at all,” he said, adding that the shift may arrive sooner than many expect. “My prediction is, in less than 20 years, working will be optional. Working at all will be optional.”
Musk described this transition as a natural outcome of exponential improvements in automation, explaining that the role of human labor will fundamentally change. In that world, he said, working would essentially become “like a hobby.”
Musk framed the shift as both a technological and societal milestone. He noted that AI and robotics are advancing at a “supersonic tsunami” scale, pushing productivity far beyond what human-driven systems can match.
He also noted that as these trends gain momentum, people will no longer be making beelines to cities solely for job opportunities. He maintains that this shift is not speculative but an inevitable result of current trends. “That’s my prediction,” he said.
Musk Pitches ‘Universal High Income’
Musk has made similar claims in the past as well, saying, “Working will be optional in the future,” in a recent post on X, while making the case for a “universal high income.”
He made these comments in response to Peter Diamandis, Executive Chairman at The Singularity University, who raised concerns regarding the growing layoffs in 2025 being tied to the advances in AI and automation.
While the idea for a universal basic income has circulated for the past several decades, Musk’s “Universal High Income” marks a conceptual leap, which policy experts such as Ryan Waite suggest is “about sharing [the] AI-driven surplus, so people participate [can] in growth, not just get cushioned from loss.”
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