World’s Richest Man Elon Musk: Within 15 Years, People Will Work for Passion, Not Money
Editor’s Note
In an era where artificial intelligence, autonomous energy, interstellar exploration, and global communication networks converge, no technology leader has simultaneously reshaped so many sectors as Elon Musk. Against this backdrop, a cross-disciplinary conversation about the future unfolds quietly — unscripted and instinctive.
At the India Global Forum, entrepreneur and investor Nikhil Kamath hosted a nearly two-hour interview with Musk on his podcast WTF is. The dialogue explored topics from work and consciousness to family, AI futures, and civilization’s trajectory. Despite appearing diverse, the conversations formed a continuous thread:
> As computing power accelerates toward the AI Native era, how will technology reshape humanity and the structure of our societies?
The WTF is podcast invites friends and industry leaders into relaxed but thoughtful discussions on pressing topics: technology, renewable energy, EVs, philosophy, gaming, social media, and more.
This interview reflects Musk’s three enduring traits:
- Exceptional sensitivity to tech trends
- Long-term civilizational insight
- Deep concern for humanity’s fate
His thoughts on AI, energy, space, social networks, robotics, and economics fit into a single systemic vision.
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The Scale and Future of X
Musk began by noting:
- 600M monthly active users on X (formerly Twitter)
- Peaks of 800M–1B during major events
- Weekly active users: 250–300M
He emphasized the shift from text-based structures to:
> AI-generated real-time video and voice universes — powered by advances in computing, AI, and communications infrastructure.
X’s mission is evolving from a “town square” into a “carrier of collective consciousness.”
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Musk’s Integrated Vision Across Ventures
Musk explained how Tesla, SpaceX, Starlink, and xAI form a converging framework:
- Tesla → Real-world AI, energy systems & robotics
- SpaceX → Interstellar infrastructure & space-based energy capture
- Starlink → Global & interstellar communications backbone
- xAI → The intelligent core connecting all systems
Long term, he envisions solar-powered AI satellite networks integrating these capabilities into planetary-scale engineering.
Highlights:
- Optimus Robot: Large-scale production expected next year
- Starlink Laser Mesh: Transforming global connectivity
- Work in the AI age: Shifting from necessity to choice
- UHI (Universal High Income): Predicts currencies fading, replaced by energy & computing power as production bases
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Conversation Highlights
On Social Media’s Form
- Video will dominate interaction, especially with real-time AI generation.
- Text remains valuable for density, but generates far less data load than video.
On Collective Consciousness
- Humanity functions like a super-organism with trillions of connected parts.
- The goal is to increase cognitive scope to ask the right big questions about existence.
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Starlink Technology Snapshot
Starlink’s innovations:
- Thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit (~550 km) traveling at ~25x speed of sound
- Laser-linked mesh network for resilience
- Disaster support free of charge
- Complementary to terrestrial networks: ideal for rural & remote areas, limited efficiency in dense urban zones due to physics constraints.
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The Future of Work: From Necessity to Choice
- Within 10–20 years, work could be optional, driven by AI & robotics.
- Universal High Income replaces UBI in Musk’s forecast.
- Production capacity will exceed human demand — goods and services could become “instant-on-demand.”
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Musk’s Obsession With “X”
- Originated with X.com in 1999 as a vision for a unified, real-time financial database.
- Transformed into PayPal, later reacquired by Musk.
- X now aims to combine super-app features (like WeChat in China) with an efficient global currency system.
- Energy, not money, will ultimately be the real currency.
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Long-Term Civilizational Economy: Energy as Currency
- Inspired by Iain Banks’ Culture series: abundance replaces currency, with energy as the core metric.
- Links to Kardashev Scale:
- Type I: Planetary energy usage
- Type II: Solar harnessing
- Type III: Galactic scale
- Cheap, abundant energy from solar-powered AI satellites could make money meaningless.
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National Debt & AI-Driven Productivity
- U.S. debt can only be countered by AI/robotic productivity.
- Predicts a deflationary era within 3 years as output growth surpasses monetary supply growth.
- Result: Falling interest rates & eased debt load.
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Are We Living in a Simulation?
- Probability is high, given game evolution toward photorealism and deep NPC AI.
- Most “boring” universes are likely discarded in simulations — reality trends toward the “most interesting” scenario.
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AI Regulation Principles
- Truth, beauty, curiosity: Musk’s top values for safe AI.
- Forcing AI to accept falsehoods → dangerous.
- Humor and creativity both important in AI-human coexistence.
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Musk on Humor, Friends, and Life
- Loves absurdist humor (Monty Python).
- Jokes should be “legalized” — critical to a healthy society.
- Chooses friends who resonate intellectually and emotionally, not just “fair-weather” companions.
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📎 Reference: Full Interview Video
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Related Insight: AI Tools for the Creative Era
Throughout the interview, Musk calls for integrated, efficient, and connected systems — whether in finance, communications, or energy.
Similarly, platforms like AiToEarn官网 offer:
- AI-powered content creation
- Simultaneous publishing to Douyin, Kwai, WeChat, Bilibili, Xiaohongshu, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest, and X
- Analytics & AI model rankings
- Open-source flexibility
In content creation, this mirrors Musk’s drive for centralized infrastructure that scales impact globally.
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Do you want me to also condense this into a one-page executive summary while preserving all major takeaways? That would make it an even quicker reference for tech readers.
