‘AI and humanoid robots will eliminate poverty’: Elon Musk says work will become ‘optional’ in future

Speaking at the US-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington on November 19, tech billionaire Elon Musk said that AI and robotics will fundamentally restructure economies in the coming decade, eliminating poverty.

Elon Musk says poverty can be 'eliminated' with AI

Musk was briefly interviewed at the Forum after he attended a candlelit dinner party hosted by US President Donald Trump at White House for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

“I see poverty as more of an engineering problem than an unsolvable social issue. With Grok and Optimus, we could solve the labour shortage, drive costs to near zero, and create a future where poverty is statistically irrelevant,” Elon Musk said, pointing out that technology, not policy, will be the decisive tool in addressing inequality.

The Tesla boss further said that within the “long term”, roughly the next 10 to 20 years, employment will shift from necessity to personal choice.

“AI and humanoid robots will actually eliminate poverty,” Musk said.

“My prediction is that work will be optional,” he said. “It’ll be like playing sports or a video game … you can go to the store and buy vegetables, or you can grow them in your backyard. It’s much harder, but some people still do it because they like growing vegetables. That will be what work is like — optional.”

He added that as AI systems advance and humanoid robots undertake complex physical tasks, the cost of goods and services will decrease significantly, making basic needs affordable and widely accessible.

Poverty is an engineering problem https://t.co/cTmpzfwCz1

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 19, 2025

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