Elon Musk thinks future economies could measure wealth using the laws of physics instead of dollars. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO predicts that advances in robotics and space exploration could eventually make conventional money irrelevant.

Musk outlined this vision during a conversation with biographer Walter Isaacson on The Builders podcast. He suggested that a multiplanetary civilization could adopt a radically different way to measure economic value, based on physical resources and energy.

Musk expects future currencies to reflect fundamental physical quantities, including power, mass, and energy. He specifically cited wattage and tonnage as possible measures of value.

“I think currency will be measured in fundamental physics metrics,” Musk told Isaacson, describing a system built around those physical quantities.

Such a shift would challenge the foundations of modern finance. Today, the US dollar provides a common measure for pricing goods, paying workers, and trading assets. Musk’s vision suggests that technological abundance could eventually reduce the importance of conventional currencies.

However, measuring economic value through physical quantities would require a system for comparing different resources. A watt measures power, while mass measures the quantity of matter. Neither independently captures scarcity, usefulness, or demand.

Musk connected his prediction to a future shaped by robotics and space travel. A multiplanetary economy could face resource constraints that differ significantly from those on Earth.

Musk also argued that robotics and artificial intelligence could provide the only viable solution to America’s growing national debt. He reached that conclusion after his 130-day stint as a special government employee in the Trump administration in 2025.

Source link