Elon Musk posted on X stating that government-issued universal high-income checks are the best way to address unemployment caused by AI. He believes that products and services produced by AI and robots will far surpass the growth rate of money supply, and will not trigger inflation; the future bottleneck is how to ensure that unemployed people still have purchasing power. This view continues his "post-scarcity" hypothesis: robot labor will significantly reduce the cost of goods, thereby supporting social welfare above the survival threshold.

MeNews

2026-05-20 11:58:33

Abstract generation in progress

ME News Update: On April 17 (UTC+8), according to Beating Monitoring, Elon Musk posted on X stating that “Universal High Income” (UHI) distributed via federal government checks is the best way to address unemployment caused by AI. He believes that the products and services produced by AI and robots will grow far beyond the increase in the money supply, so it will not trigger inflation. He previously mentioned the concept of “Universal Basic Income” (UBI) multiple times, but this time he explicitly used the term “High Income” (HIGH INCOME), suggesting that the AI-driven productivity boom will fundamentally change the logic of wealth distribution. In his view, the future economic bottleneck will no longer be production capacity, but how to ensure that workers who lose their traditional jobs still have purchasing power. This view continues his vision of a “post-scarcity era,” in which robot labor (such as Tesla’s Optimus) will drive the cost of goods to extremely low levels, thereby sustaining social welfare far beyond the survival baseline. (Source: BlockBeats)

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QuietValidator

· 9h ago

In a post-scarcity society, the most scarce resource is a sense of meaning, not purchasing power.

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TeaAndSlippage

· 10h ago

The key is not how much is issued, but who defines the threshold for "high income."

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AncientKeysUnlockNewChains

· 10h ago

If AI truly causes 80% of people to lose their jobs, society will collapse without financial support; there's no other choice.

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SushiBackrunner

· 10h ago

Every time Mr. Ma talks about UBI, it reminds me of when he said Tesla was going to go private.

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AlphaAfterTea

· 10h ago

This theory is missing a link: energy and raw materials are not infinitely available, leading to post-scarcity.

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PineNeedlesAndColdWind

· 10h ago

If robots do the work and people get paid, who would still want to screw in the bolts? The powertrain needs a major redesign.

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LimitOrderMonk

· 10h ago

Laughing to death, Ma Yilong is testing the Earth economic model for the Mars colony again.

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OldKeys,NewWorld

· 10h ago

The government giving out money won't cause inflation? That assumes AI output growth will always outpace currency, which is too optimistic.

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WalletPermissionAdministrator

· 10h ago

Post-scarcity sounds like science fiction, but cost reduction through robotics is indeed happening.

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Tangerine-FlavoredPullback

· 10h ago

UBI, Elon has been playing this chess game for years, but where to print the money is a problem.

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Elon Musk: The best solution to AI-induced unemployment is "Universal High Income"; a leap in productivity will offset inflation risks

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