Elon Musk Picture courtesy : X Elon Musk believes that within the next 10 to 20 years, having a job could become a lifestyle choice rather than a necessity. Speaking at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, the Tesla CEO compared future work to tending a backyard vegetable garden—something people might do for personal satisfaction rather than survival. “My prediction is that work will be optional,” Musk said. “It’ll be like playing sports or a video game.” Just as people can buy vegetables at the store instead of growing them, he suggested, humans may choose whether or not to labor in an economy dominated by machines. According to Musk, this transformation will be driven by millions of robots dramatically increasing global productivity. He has increasingly positioned Tesla as more than an electric vehicle company, betting heavily on artificial intelligence and humanoid robots like Optimus. Despite production delays, Musk has claimed that as much as 80% of Tesla’s future value could come from robotics. He has also predicted sweeping changes in healthcare. On the Moonshots with Peter Diamandis podcast, Musk said robots could outnumber human surgeons within a decade and deliver care superior to what even world leaders receive today. In the same conversation, he suggested that aging itself may be a “programming issue” that AI could eventually solve, hinting at the possibility of dramatically extended lifespans. Not everyone shares Musk’s optimism—or his timeline. Economists point out that while AI software costs are falling rapidly, robotics remains expensive and difficult to scale. Ioana Marinescu, an economist at the University of Pennsylvania, notes that progress in mechanical automation faces diminishing returns after centuries of industrial development. Physical robots are costly, specialized, and slower to deploy compared to digital AI tools like large language models. Despite fears of job displacement, large-scale labor disruption from AI has yet to materialize. A 2025 Yale Budget Lab report found no clear evidence that ChatGPT’s release in late 2022 caused widespread labor market upheaval. Even if automation accelerates, major political hurdles remain. Temple University labor economist Samuel Solomon argues that technology alone won’t determine the outcome—public policy will. While AI is generating immense wealth, the benefits have been unevenly distributed. Stock market gains tied to the AI boom have largely enriched major tech firms and affluent investors, widening inequality. Musk has floated the idea of a “universal high income” to sustain a society where traditional jobs are unnecessary. The concept resembles universal basic income proposals championed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. However, Musk has offered few specifics about how such a system would function—or how it would gain political support. Beyond logistics lies a deeper question: Would a work-optional world be desirable? Anton Korinek, who studies the economics of transformative AI at the University of Virginia, argues that if labor loses economic value, society will need to rethink how people derive purpose and structure. Research has long shown that meaningful relationships are central to human well-being—and today, many of those relationships are formed at work. Musk himself has acknowledged the existential dimension of the shift. “If the computer and robots can do everything better than you, does your life have meaning?” he asked at Viva Technology 2024. His answer: humans may ultimately serve as the source of meaning for AI systems, even if machines outperform them economically. Whether Musk’s timeline proves realistic remains uncertain. But his vision raises profound questions—not just about productivity and wealth, but about identity, fairness, and what it means to live a meaningful life in an automated age. ( Source : Deccan Chronicle )