Elon Musk wants the government to send you a check, not just to cover your rent, but to fund a penthouse lifestyle.
As artificial intelligence begins to move from tech-bro fantasy to a real-world workforce disruptor, the world’s richest man is pitching a radical solution for the millions who might find their resumes obsolete. Musk is moving past the idea of a basic safety net and is now championing what he calls Universal High Income (UHI).
While most economists have spent years debating Universal Basic Income (UBI) as a way to keep people fed and housed, Musk is dreaming bigger. On his platform, X, Tesla CEO Elon Musk suggested that the only way to handle a world where robots do the heavy lifting is for the federal government to issue significant, recurring checks to every citizen.
According to Musk, this isn’t just about survival; it’s about a future where work is optional, and wealth is common. In a post on X, Musk wrote: “Universal HIGH INCOME via checks issued by the Federal government is the best way to deal with unemployment caused by AI.”
When questioned by users about how everyone could afford luxuries like a penthouse in this new world, Musk doubled down, replying, “Actually, AI/Robotics will mean everyone can have a penthouse if they want. The output of goods & services will be several orders of magnitude higher than today’s economy.”
The inflation question
The biggest pushback against free money is usually the fear that prices will skyrocket. Musk, however, argues that the sheer productivity of AI and robotics will break the traditional rules of economics. He believes that because robots can produce goods so cheaply and in such massive quantities, the supply will always outpace the money being handed out.
Explaining his theory on X, Musk wrote, “AI/robotics will produce goods & services far in excess of the increase in the money supply, so there will not be inflation.”
In Musk’s view, we are heading toward a post-scarcity world where things like poverty simply vanish because machines make everything virtually free to produce.
Not everyone is ready to sign up for Musk’s automated utopia. Financial experts warn that handing out “high-income” checks could lead to a fiscal disaster. Sanjeev Sanyal, a prominent economist and former advisor to India’s Minister of Finance, responded to the proposal on X, writing, “He is so wrong on this. AI will certainly cause dislocation, but like all technology it will also create new jobs and opportunities in the medium term.”
He went on to warn of a potential total economic collapse if such a plan were enacted, stating, “Elon Musk’s universal high income will bankrupt any government that attempts it.”
Musk’s proposal is part of his wider belief that the next two decades will fundamentally change how humans live. He has previously suggested that saving for retirement might become a thing of the past.
Speaking on the Moonshots with Peter Diamandis podcast, Musk told listeners, “Don’t worry about squirreling money away for retirement in 10 or 20 years. It won’t matter. If any of the things that we’ve said are true, saving for retirement will be irrelevant,” according to Business Insider.
Also read: AI job cuts are adding new urgency to the debate over how automation will change work.