Elon Musk Says Saving for Retirement Is Pointless as AI Advances

Elon Musk has once again told people they no longer need to save for retirement. In a reply on X, the billionaire said that saving money for a distant future is pointless in the age of what he called "superintelligent abundance".

The remark came after a user known as Viv wrote that her questionable financial decisions would not matter in a few years because of an "abundant future". Musk confirmed her view, and the exchange drew a mixed reaction on the platform he owns. Some users noted that a billionaire is telling others not to save, while others called the prediction utopian and potentially dangerous for anyone who takes it literally.

A message he has repeated

The stance is not new. In January, on the Moonshots with Peter Diamandis podcast, Musk said people should not worry too much about putting money aside for retirement, arguing that in ten or twenty years it would no longer matter. Retirement saving, he said, would become unnecessary if the scenarios discussed came true.

His argument rests on the idea that profits generated by AI will be redistributed to the population. A large share of people would no longer hold traditional jobs but could rely on a universal income. Musk has also promised a SpaceX share "to every child in America" in 2027.

Others are exploring redistribution too

Anthropic, the company behind the Claude assistant, has announced a fund meant to redistribute part of the profits generated by AI to non-profit organisations or "specific populations". The company said people who lost their jobs because of AI could benefit from it.

Still, none of this amounts to a guarantee. Seven experts in personal finance and artificial intelligence interviewed by Business Insider gave an unequivocal answer when asked whether people should follow Musk's advice: no. Their recommendation is to keep saving for retirement while such promises remain hypothetical.