Elon Musk says artificial intelligence and robotics are the only forces powerful enough to counter the fiscal pressure created by America’s soaring deficits.
In a new interview with Nikhil Kamath, Musk says the rapid expansion of automated production is the only viable path to offset the inflationary impact of the United States adding about $2 trillion to its balance sheet each year.
He notes that the long-term economic stability of the US hinges on raising output far faster than the government prints money.
“As long as civilization keeps advancing, we will have AI and robotics at a very large scale. I think that is pretty much the only thing that is going to solve the US debt crisis. Because currently, the US debt is insanely high, and the interest payments on the debt exceed the entire military budget of the United States.”
Musk says the burden of interest costs alone is beginning to overwhelm the country’s fiscal position.
“Just the interest payments. And that is, at least in the short term, going to continue to increase.”
Data from the US Treasury Department shows that by the end of September, the US had a budget deficit of over $1.77 trillion for the 2025 fiscal year. The government shelled out $970 billion to pay net interest on debt, while spending $917 billion for national defense.
According to Musk, AI-driven automation is the only force capable of raising output at a rate fast enough to outpace the current rate of government borrowing.
“So if you have AI and robotics and a dramatic increase in the output of goods and services, probably you will have deflation. That seems likely. Because you simply will not be able to increase the money supply as fast as you can increase the output of goods and services.”
Musk says the tipping point is coming quickly, with automation positioned to flip the balance between output and monetary expansion.
“So we are not there yet, but if you say like how long would it take us to get there, I think it is three years…In three years or less, my guess is goods and services output will exceed the rate of inflation. Like goods and services growth will exceed money supply growth in about three years.”
The US national debt currently stands at a record $38.335 trillion.
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