‘Work will be optional’: Elon Musk says future jobs will feel like playing video games | WATCH

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said artificial intelligence and humanoid robots could eliminate global poverty and that work will be optional. Speaking alongside NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah Amer Alswaha at the US Saudi Investment Forum 2025, Musk said the wider adoption of advanced robotics would reshape global wealth distribution.

Musk said that work would eventually become optional as AI systems and robots took over routine tasks. He compared future work choices to recreational activities that people pursue.

Musk said, “My prediction is that work will be optional. It’ll be like playing sports or a video game. If you want to work, it will be similar to choosing between buying vegetables at a store or growing them in your backyard. Growing them yourself is harder, yet some people still do it because they like growing vegetables. That is what work will become—optional. And between now and then, there is a lot of work needed to reach that point.”

Musk added that although work would ultimately become optional, the transition would involve extensive development and technological progress.

During the session, Musk also said that several initiatives had attempted to reduce poverty without success, but he believed technological progress would make a decisive difference. He added that Tesla may lead the development of humanoid robots, although many other companies would contribute to this future.

Musk said, “There’s been a lot of talk and many NGOs have tried to address poverty but have not succeeded, and the evidence speaks for itself. AI and humanoid robots will actually eliminate poverty, and Tesla will not be the only company that makes them. Tesla may pioneer this, but many other companies will build humanoid robots. There is only one way to make everyone wealthy, and that is AI and robotics.”