Public transcript

The full-length interview with Elon Musk | The Economist

By: The Economist
Length: 1 h 25 min
Language: English
Text from: the video's captions
Transcribed: 13 October 2026

Read the full transcript Open on YouTube

Notes in English.

Summary

In this wide-ranging interview recorded at Tesla Giga, Elon Musk tells The Economist that AI will exceed the sum of human intelligence in roughly five years and that, absent World War III, humanity is headed for an age of abundance powered by AI and humanoid robots. He argues humans are unlikely to remain in control, says his philosophy is to enjoy the ride, and proposes that competing AI companies test each other's frontier models before release, with governments stepping in only when dangers are ignored. The conversation also covers China's AI and electricity advantages, job displacement, taxation, his control of his companies, Starlink's role in Ukraine, his political activity with DOGE, and a heated exchange about his posts on Europe, immigration and British politics.

Key points

Musk predicts AI will exceed the sum of human intelligence in roughly 5 years, and that by 2036 there will be an age of amazing abundance where anyone can have anything they can think of.
He believes humans are unlikely to be in control in 10 years, comparing the intelligence gap to that between humans and chimpanzees.
Musk says he still sees a 10 to 20 percent risk from AI and robots, but has concluded the momentum is unstoppable and his philosophy is to enjoy the ride.
He proposes leading AI companies hold weekly or bi-weekly calls and give competitors a week or two of early access to test frontier models for harmful effects before release, with governments intervening only if dangers are ignored.
He says China is strong in AI and robots, has more electricity than the US, Europe and India combined, and is closer than most realize to solving the lithography problem.
Musk predicts AI will reach 'Stockfish level' at software and eventually everything, making work optional, and suggests the Treasury issue people checks, predicting deflation rather than inflation.
He defends his voting control of SpaceX and Tesla as necessary for 5 to 10 year investments like a Mars base, and says he pays about 45% in taxes and expects to pay many trillions.
On Europe, he insists his views are centrist — secure borders, safe cities, sensible spending — and repeats his claim that civil war in Britain is inevitable if current trends continue, which the interviewer strongly disputes.

Questions it answers

00:00The world in 2036

What does Musk think the world will be like in 10 years?

He expects AI to exceed the sum of human intelligence in about 5 years, and by 2036 an age of amazing abundance where anyone can have anything they can think of — assuming no World War III. He also predicts money won't matter in 2036.

AI may exceed the sum of human intelligence in roughly 5 years.
Vast numbers of robots plus digital intelligence create a quasi-infinite economy.
He predicts money will not matter in 2036.

06:32From fear to inevitability

Has Musk changed his view on AI risk?

He still sees a 10 to 20 percent risk, but has concluded AI's momentum is inexorable — even a stop button probably shouldn't be pressed — so his philosophy is to enjoy the ride and minimize the probability of bad outcomes.

He acknowledges a 10 to 20 percent chance of killer robots ending humanity.
He says even if he wanted to stop AI, he couldn't.
He notes creating OpenAI accidentally accelerated AI.

12:14A safety proposal

How does Musk propose managing AI risks?

Leading AI companies should meet every few weeks and give competitors a week or two of early access to test frontier models before release, recommending pauses for security issues. Governments should only step in when a company refuses to address a flagged danger, as occurred with Mythos after Amazon called the White House.

Competitors can keep each other honest because they have incentive to flag rivals' risks.
He compares it to the Motion Picture Association's rating system.
He has proposed this to Demis Hassabis and will talk to Dario.

16:55China's AI rise

Is Musk worried about China leading in AI?

He says Chinese AI companies are doing well with little compute, and China has more electricity than the US, Europe and India combined, so there is a good chance China leads at some point. Outside China the constraint is electricity; inside China it is chips, though China is close to solving lithography.

The Kimmy K3 model is getting quite close to Fable.
China is closer than most realize to solving the lithography problem.
He thinks banning US companies from Chinese models wouldn't help.

27:45Jobs and universal high income

What happens to jobs and how will people live?

Musk says AI will do any job better than any person, making work optional like gardening, and the answer is universal high income. He suggests the Treasury just issue checks and predicts deflation, not inflation, as goods and services output grows faster than money supply.

AI is already better than at least 90% of professional software engineers.
Work will be optional, like growing vegetables in a garden.
He predicts deflation will be the issue, not inflation.

41:00Control, tax and Mars

Why does Musk keep voting control of his companies?

He says he needs to focus on 5 to 10 year investments like a moon or Mars base without quarterly earnings pressure. He pays about 45% in taxes, expects to pay many trillions, and says taxation becomes irrelevant when money does.

He took SpaceX public so millions could own a piece of it.
He compares his role to Steve Jobs at Apple — companies run well but miss breakthrough products without him.
He wants to extend consciousness beyond Earth.

49:57Starlink and Ukraine

How does Musk wield Starlink's geopolitical power?

He says Starlink was instrumental in defending Ukraine and that they worked with the Ukrainian government on a whitelist of approved terminals to stop smuggled Russian use. He advocates a pragmatic peace, saying Russia will not withdraw and more years of dying would be terrible.

Russians smuggled Starlink units ordered through Ukraine into occupied territories.
The whitelist cut off some innocent users as a downside.
He says Russia is not going to retake those territories — it is not going to happen.

55:25DOGE and Europe

How does Musk defend his political interventions?

He admits he got a little too involved in politics and carried away with DOGE, but insists zero people died from aid cuts and calls the administration excellent on balance. On Europe, he insists his views are centrist — secure borders, safe cities, sensible spending — and repeats that civil war in Britain is inevitable if current trends continue, which the interviewer strongly disputes as an inaccurate picture amplified to his 250 million followers.

He says interest payments on US debt exceed defense and intelligence spending.
He claims zero people died from USAID cuts and calls contrary claims nonsense.
He predicts the AI robot singularity in 10 years and civil war in Britain in about 20.

Notes

AI and the future

Musk predicts AI will exceed the sum of human intelligence in roughly 5 years, and by 2036 there will be "an age of amazing abundance" where anyone can have anything they can think of — barring a global thermonuclear war.
He frames the economy as digital plus physical intelligence; humanoid robots act as "end effectors" that let AI shape atoms, creating a quasi-infinite economy.
He says money won't matter in 2036 because goods and services will be so abundant; asked how companies make money, he says the question reflects old assumptions.

Risk and safety

Musk acknowledges a 10 to 20 percent risk from killer robots but says he can't stop the momentum; his philosophy is "let's enjoy the ride."
He notes his own actions accelerated AI: he co-created OpenAI as a counterweight to Google, and Anthropic spun out of OpenAI.
His proposal to Demis Hassabis: leading AI companies should meet every few weeks, and competitors should get a week or two of early access via API to test frontier models before release, recommending pauses when needed — like the Motion Picture Association rating system.
Governments (really only the US and Chinese governments) should step in when a company refuses to address a flagged danger, as happened with Mythos after Amazon called the White House.

China and constraints

The constraints on AI are electricity and AI chips. Outside China the constraint is power and cooling; inside China it is chips, though China is close to solving lithography.
China has more electricity than the US, Europe and India combined and strong robot companies; Musk guesses it will reach four times US electricity production.

Jobs and economics

AI will do any job better than any person; software is furthest along, heading to "Stockfish level." Work will become optional, like gardening.
He suggests the Treasury simply issue people checks and predicts deflation, not inflation, as goods and services output outpaces money creation.
He cites Iain Banks's Culture books as the best envisioning of an AI future.

Power, politics and Europe

Musk defends his voting control as needed for 5 to 10 year investments like a Mars base, and says he pays about 45% in taxes.
On Ukraine, Starlink created a whitelist with the Ukrainian government; he advocates a pragmatic peace, saying Russia will not withdraw.
He admits he got "a little too involved in politics" with DOGE, insists zero people died from aid cuts, and calls the administration "excellent" on balance.
On Europe he clashes with the interviewer, insisting his views are centrist (secure borders, safe cities, sensible spending) and repeating that civil war in Britain is inevitable if current trends continue — which the interviewer calls nonsense. Musk predicts the AI robot singularity in 10 years and civil war in Britain in about 20.

Text from the video's own captions. Summary and notes written by AI from the transcript, so check anything important against the recording.