Elon Musk predicts jobs’ future, claims in the next decade work would become…’It will be like…’

Elon Musk says jobs will no longer be a necessity

Amid the ongoing AI debate concerning the potential threat to jobs, tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has made a unique statement on the future of jobs. He said that the world would not need jobs to sustain itself in the future. His statement came at a recent US investment forum in Washington, DC. His statement suggested the situation will not come far, but in the near future, that is, in the next decade or so. 

Comparing the idea of working in a job in the future to maintaining a vegetable garden, which people mostly take up as their interest rather than need, he said, “My prediction is that work will be optional. It’ll be like playing sports or a video game or something like that,” Musk said. “If you want to work, [it’s] the same way you can go to the store and just buy some vegetables, or you can grow vegetables in your backyard. It’s much harder to grow vegetables in your backyard, and some people still do it because they like growing vegetables.”

Musk reasoned that this shift from jobs being a necessity to becoming optional will arise from the increase of robots and automation in the global workforce. His belief is based on the expected potential of robots to replace humans, as he said that millions of them could increase productivity, thereby making human labour obsolete.

Talking about his companies, Musk argued that Tesla would not be just an electric vehicle company but would be involved in AI-based robotics. For this reason, his company is developing Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robot, as the core of the company’s value. Musk made a big claim stating that 80% of Tesla’s future revenue may come from Optimus, despite production delays.

However, not everyone agrees with Musk’s ideas. Many economists and labour analysts are of the view that automation is surrounded by uncertainty, especially in the case of entry-level workers. Some studies suggest that AI may replace mainly low-skill jobs, sparking concerns among Gen Z, which is facing slow income growth and uneven job markets.