Sometimes you hear something and think, “Huh?”
“Don’t worry about having money for retirement in 10 or 20 years,” Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, recently said on “Moonshots with Peter Diamandis.” podcast. “It won’t make any difference.”
The CEOs of Tesla and SpaceX were adamant that people like you and me shouldn’t be too worried about depleting savings after the paychecks stop.
“Saving for retirement will become irrelevant,” Musk said. “Services will be there to support you. You’ll have a home. You’ll have healthcare. You’ll have entertainment. It’s fundamentally impossible to predict the way this will turn out because of AI’s self-improvement and accelerated timeline.”
He admits it will take some time for all of us to adjust. “Bumps are part of it. Change always feels a little scary, doesn’t it?”
But he trumpets that it’s getting to the point “not too far.” “Anyone can get whatever they want – incredible medical care that is better than any medical care that exists today – and there will be no shortage of goods or services.” Also, “the best education will be available to everyone.”
I am all for the future being a better place for all of us. But forgive me if I don’t trash my retirement plans on the advice of a man whose wealth could last for hundreds of generations.
Elon Musk attends the US-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, DC, US on November 19, 2025. Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein
(Reuters/Reuters)
Financial advisors (who are trying to help people last just one lifetime) largely agree.
“As far back as we can trace human civilization, there has always been some form of ‘money’ for exchanging goods, from shells and pearls, to gold and silver, to today’s complex and rapidly growing digital monetary system,” said Connor Kelly, Partner and Senior Financial Advisor. Prime Capital Financial And self-described Musk fan. “It is hard to imagine that money will disappear in our near future.”
Kelly doesn’t think twice about the recent leaps in AI and its potential to reshape our world in ways we can’t yet understand, for better or worse.
“But let’s say Elon is right and our future is one of AI-driven abundance where goods and services are almost free,” he said. “Won’t this lead to even more focus on finite assets like real estate? AI can’t create more mountains in Colorado or more beaches in Florida.
“In a future of AI-powered abundance, those who continue to save and invest will be the ones positioned to afford the things AI can’t replicate. Relying on a post-currency utopia is a high-risk gamble, but continuing to build wealth is a strategy.”
While Musk is certainly a technological visionary, Dan Gately, a certified financial planner Norvell, in Mass., said his perspective on human behavior is not accurate.
“We can have a society where you just sit and have everything provided for you, and don’t have to do any work, don’t have to put in any effort, it just goes against everything that motivates human beings to function on any level, period.”
Galli said, “This kind of future prediction is fun, but I remember being promised as a kid in ‘The Jetsons’ that I would live in a skyscraper, drive a flying car, and be able to make phone calls where I could see the person I was talking to. Well, now we’re 60 years later, and I only got one out of three. Not planning for the future is a plan in itself, and this is one such plan. which may lead to failure.”
Do you have a question about retirement? personal Finance? Anything career related? Click here to leave a note to Kerry Hannon.
‘Totally real’
“Elon Musk Is Now a Retirement Planner – Great!”. Pam Krueger, founder and CEO of the financial advisor referral service, joked Weltramp.
He said, “Elon is describing something that is real enough to help you imagine a potentially easier future.” “AI, robotics and automation that will increase productivity and lower the cost of the goods and services we buy are already reshaping parts of the economy faster than people expect.”
For Krueger, this is the credible part of the argument.
But then “there’s a huge leap between technology that might someday drive costs down and that means saving for retirement today is meaningless,” she said.
“If I believe that, why not empty the 401(k) and spend it now? Well, because Elon Musk is not me. And he’s not you. The day I go to Elon Musk for retirement advice is the day I let a robot not only choose my retirement date, but also decide how long I’ll live.
Krueger’s advice is simple: Appreciate what innovation provides, but build retirement security based on the factors that exist today.
“Look at it this way, if the future turns out to be cheaper, faster and better than expected, great – you’ll be even more prepared.”
Kerry Hannon is a senior columnist at Yahoo Finance. She is a career and retirement strategist and author of 14 books, including “Retirement Bytes: A Gen” “In Control at 50+: How to Succeed in the New World of Work,” and “Never too old to be rich.” Follow him blue sky And x.
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