Could Americans Be Paid to Do Nothing? Musk Says AI-Powered Robots Will Make It Happen

Elon Musk is a controversial figure who manages to capture our imagination through a combination of technology and personal public theater.

Reflecting on Musk's 2022 annual Tesla AI Day, where he showcased the future possibilities for their technology, and on his highly publicized Twitter ventures, here is some context around his assertions.

Summary of Musk's Assertions

Robots will take over our jobs, do our housework, and the economy will thrive so much that we will all be paid to do nothing.

Robots Will Take Over Your Day Job

Today, the US is home to 310,700 industrial robots (that is roughly the capacity of 3 large football stadiums), and it is increasing by 40,000 per year. By 2030, that is roughly 6 football stadiums of robots.

Automation has the potential to eliminate 73 million US jobs by 2030, which would equate to a staggering 46% of current jobs.

Robots Will Also Do Your Housework

For less than the cost of an entry-level car, you could have a personal robot. Musk anticipates the Tesla Optimus Robot will be less than $20,000.

What Possible Futures Could This Create?

Musk says that the economy will thrive, and the government will be able to pay everyone simply to live. Well, yes and no.

YES. The economy will thrive. Data shows that automation has the potential to raise the United States GDP by 5%, or $1.2 trillion (for context, imagine if your paycheck had 12 zeros), within the next five years.

NO. Sadly, everyone will not be getting checks for doing nothing, so the focus should be on upskilling.

Automation is also predicted to create 58 million new jobs. Those 15 million net lost jobs represent people who will need to reskill themselves.