Elon Musk told The Economist that money won’t matter in 2036 — a comment that landed as his own paper fortune shrank by nearly $700 billion over five weeks. SpaceX stock has fallen almost 50% from its June 16 peak, and Tesla closed the week down around 19% after missing earnings estimates.
Elon Musk argued that money will lose its purpose in an AI-run economy, and he made the case as his paper fortune shrank by nearly $700 billion while Tesla and SpaceX stock prices plunged over the past five weeks. He made the remark in an interview with The Economist: “Money won’t matter in 2036.”
Musk points to deflation rather than inflation
When the interviewer asked how people invested in Musk-related stocks would react to that, he replied that people only need money to buy goods and services — and asked what money is for if AI and robots produce more than humans can consume. Musk also said AI may alter how economies function, and that deflation, not inflation, will be the issue.
To justify that, he noted that the supply of money is growing massively while the supply of goods and services is growing rapidly too. With AI, he said, the surge in goods supply could outpace the increase in money supply and undermine money’s importance.
Yet Musk did not present the technology as settled. He later admitted that many questions about AI still need to be addressed and acknowledged the uncertainty despite the positives, saying his own view has moved from exhilaration to terror.
SpaceX carries most of the loss
The comments coincided with the drop in Musk’s fortune. His paper wealth peaked at approximately $1.45 trillion on June 16, when SpaceX’s market value rose to $2.64 trillion after the company’s IPO made him the world’s first trillionaire. By July 23 his net worth was estimated at about $738 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
SpaceX suffered the biggest losses. SPCX stock has fallen almost 50% from its June 16 peak of $225.64 to $115.07 on Friday, July 24. That leaves the company worth a total $1.51 trillion, losing around a trillion dollars in market capitalization since the June 16 peak.
The plunge expedited after a delayed Starship launch on July 16, as well as a general selloff of AI-related companies following fresh post-IPO optimism. SpaceX had fallen seven consecutive sessions to close below the IPO price. Its short sellers gained some $15.5 billion through the downtrend.
Tesla’s earnings miss adds to the damage
Tesla’s slump earlier this week also hit Musk’s net worth. The company booked second-quarter revenue of $28.24 billion, surpassing analysts’ expectations by 7.10%, and delivered a record 480,126 vehicles. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.33, short of the $0.5367 consensus estimate by 38.51%.
That miss pushed Tesla’s weekly losses to around 19%, with the stock closing at $313.03 on Friday. Cathie Wood nonetheless remained optimistic on Tesla and purchased over $51 million worth of TSLA shares during the dip.
Source: CoinGape
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