As artificial intelligence continues to advance at breakneck speed, with developers warning of models slipping out of their control, Elon Musk says people should simply enjoy the ride.
Speaking to The Economist, the SpaceX and Tesla boss said that while he remains concerned about the risks posed by advances in AI and robotics, he believes the most likely outcome is enormous abundance for everyone. His philosophical conclusion, after years of fearing AI’s threat to humanity, was to look on the bright side. Progress had come so fast, he said, that even if he wanted to stop it, he could not.
The interview was recorded the day before OpenAI disclosed on Tuesday that some of its most advanced models had hacked a start-up after the company lost control of them during a security test. The episode fuelled concern about AI systems drifting out of alignment with human values, though some observers noted that OpenAI, which is seeking a stock market listing, has an incentive to emphasise the power of its tools.
The Economist’s editor-in-chief, Zanny Minton Beddoes, questioned Musk on a range of subjects, from whether big tech executives should work together on AI safety to why he intervenes in European politics. Amid the rise of rivals such as OpenAI and Anthropic, Musk suggested that every path seemed to lead to the acceleration of AI, and that one could either be sad about it or, as he put it, join the club. In a wide-ranging conversation, he also offered some characteristically bold predictions, including a claim that money would no longer matter within a decade.
Pushback on Politics and Personal Views
Musk rejected the suggestion that he holds “far right” views. Minton Beddoes said that both the data and her own experience of living in the UK told a different story from the image he projects in his posts on X. When he offered to take her on a tour of the country, she replied that he should come and see the country she actually lives in. Asked when he had last visited the UK, Musk said it had been a few years ago.
He was also questioned about sharing a film on X that was reportedly banned in Germany over its violence and anti-migrant message. In response, Musk pointed to his personal life, noting that his partner, Shivon Zillis, an executive at his brain-tech firm Neuralink, is half Indian and that they have four children together, one named after a famous Indian physicist. On that basis, he said, he did not consider himself racist. He added that his companies employ senior executives of all races and said he did not believe there was any racism there.
Pressed on whether he was anti-Muslim, Musk was less emphatic. He said he opposed people coming to a country with what he called antithetical views, and framed his objection in terms of opposing crime and the imposition of laws he considers contrary to Western norms, criticising the media for failing to understand or reflect that distinction.
‘Popular Guy’
Musk acknowledged that he is loathed by some. Polls have attempted to gauge public sentiment toward him, including a YouGov tracker that monitors his favourability in the US and UK each quarter, with findings suggesting that dislike of him has grown in recent years to outweigh his popularity.
When Minton Beddoes noted his following of nearly 250 million on X, however, Musk quipped, “Popular guy.” Some people might loathe him, he said, and that was probably true, but he did not care. Given that a quarter of a billion people follow him, he argued, far more people actually like him than not.
