Elon Musk Says Money May Not Matter by 2036: What AI, Robots, and Deflation Could Mean for Tesla and the AI Trade -( $AMZN $MSFT $NVDA TSLA )

Elon Musk’s latest The Insider turn is vintage Musk: audacious, unsettling, and just coherent enough to make everyone in the room check their assumptions. In his conversation with Zanny Minton Beddoes, he argued that AI and robots could make work optional, money less relevant, and deflation more likely than inflation in a world of extreme abundance.

What He Actually Said

The core claim is simple: if AI and robotics keep advancing fast enough, the economy could shift from scarcity to surplus, and prices could start bending downward rather than upward. Musk also suggested AI may surpass the sum of human intelligence in about five years, which is either a forecast or a warning label, depending on your portfolio and your pulse.

Why Investors Care

For investors, the real story is not whether money “matters” in 2036; it is which companies own the infrastructure of that future. Tesla (TSLA) is the obvious headline name, since Reuters reported Musk is pushing the company deeper into AI, robotics, and chip spending, while also reframing Tesla as more than an automaker. That matters because markets usually pay for optionality when the narrative becomes bigger than the current revenue line.

The Deflation Debate

Musk’s deflation thesis is provocative because it flips the usual AI inflation narrative on its head. His logic is that if robots and software massively expand the supply of goods and services, the price level could fall even as prosperity rises. That is a clean soundbite, but in practice the transition could be messy, with capital-heavy winners, labor-market dislocation, and plenty of policy friction along the way.

Winners And Watch List

The public-market beneficiaries would likely sit in three buckets: AI compute, robotics, and energy/infrastructure. That points investors toward names such as TSLA, NVDA, MSFT, GOOGL, and AMZN, which are all tied in different ways to the hardware, software, cloud, or deployment layer of AI. If Musk is right, the market may reward the companies that help build abundance before it starts handing out philosophical headaches.[7][6]

Wall Street Read

The sophisticated humor here is that Musk keeps describing a future where money becomes irrelevant while simultaneously helping create the most expensive arms race in modern business. Wall Street will happily suspend disbelief for a while, but only if the spreadsheets continue to show growth, not just prophecy. For now, the trade is less about believing 2036 will be cashless and more about recognizing that AI and robotics remain one of the market’s most powerful secular themes.

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The Sources

[1] An interview with Elon Musk | The Economist Insider https://www.economist.com/insider/the-insider/an-interview-with-elon-musk
[2] Elon Musk’s vision of the future https://www.economist.com/business/2026/07/23/elon-musks-vision-of-the-future
[3] Elon Musk says there’s a “good chance” China will be the … https://www.facebook.com/TheEconomist/videos/elon-musk-says-theres-a-good-chance-china-will-be-the-world-leader-in-ai-the-tes/2489912918099062/
[4] Elon Musk says only AI and robotics can solve the ‘insanely … https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-says-only-ai-115028916.html
[5] Elon Musk believes that Britain is heading for “a reckoning” … https://www.facebook.com/TheEconomist/posts/elon-musk-believes-that-britain-is-heading-for-a-reckoning-zanny-minton-beddoes-/1552181063607075/
[6] As Musk pivots beyond cars, Tesla’s autos engine is under … https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/elon-musks-tesla-posts-cash-burn-capex-surges-ai-robotaxi-push-2026-07-22/
[7] Tesla lifts 2026 spending plans by a quarter as Musk funds … https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-revenue-misses-estimates-demand-weakens-2026-04-22/
[8] Elon Musk says AI and robotics will make money ‘irrelevant’ https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-says-ai-robotics-213434560.html
[9] Elon Musk predicts money will “stop being relevant” in the future https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzUed05edUg
[10] 5 Key Takeaways From Elon Musk’s Latest Interview https://www.businessinsider.com/5-key-takeaways-from-elon-musks-latest-interview-2026-7
[12] The Economist on Instagram: ““Money won’t matter in 2036 … https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbNPAhVgfTx/
[13] Elon Musk on AI: humans will no longer be in control in ten … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1X-rr1DKSbY
[14] The Economist on Instagram: “Elon Musk explains the … https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbLEq4lki-D/
[15] Elon Musk The Economist July 23rd 2026 – FULL Interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TjK-s0468w
AISEOforBeginners/comments/1pp8fua/what_actually_makes_content_citationworthy_for_ai/
[17] I sat down with @ElonMusk for The Insider this week. … https://x.com/zannymb/status/2080235492524659150
[18] Elon Musk makes explosive claim over AI’s future https://www.facebook.com/WIONews/posts/30-to-36-months-mark-my-words-elon-musk-makes-explosive-claim-over-ais-future/1257520903153748/
[19] The Economist on Instagram: ““There really won’t be anything … https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbIY1MQj9ek/
[20] Perplexity , et al – Saul’s Investing Discussions https://discussion.fool.com/t/perplexity-et-al/121657
[21] Elon Musk speaks to ‘The Economist’: Editor-in-chief Zanny … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7trZGqCGOg8
[22] Elon Musk’s Humanoid Robot Claims ‘Unrealistic’ https://www.newsweek.com/elon-musk-claim-robots-outnumbering-humans-2040-unrealistic-1977949
[23] Elon Musk – “In 36 months, the cheapest place to put AI will be … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYXbuik3dgA
[24] Tesla raises spending plans, pours money into AI, chips and … https://www.reuters.com/video/watch/idRW477523042026RP1/
[25] AI Weekly: fakes, bots and job cuts | REUTERS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsQxBO1fZVA
[26] The Economist on Instagram: “Elon Musk says he “got too … https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbJU6_7lX8F/
[27] Tesla to have humanoid robots for internal use next year, … https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-have-humanoid-robots-internal-use-next-year-musk-says-2024-07-22/
[28] WEF 2026: Elon Musk says, Robots will outnumber Humans in … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBDlcvyJh3k
[29] “There really won’t be anything that AI can’t do better than … https://www.facebook.com/TheEconomist/videos/there-really-wont-be-anything-that-ai-cant-do-better-than-humans-apart-from-bein/1742747010094517/