Elon Musk made another bold prediction this week: humanoid robots will become “the biggest industry or the biggest product ever, bigger than cellphones or anything else.”
He made the comment during the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum last week, where he spoke about the future of artificial intelligence and robotics.
Musk said he believes work could become “optional” within 10 to 20 years thanks to rapid advances in these technologies.
In his view, AI and humanoid robots will not only eliminate poverty but could eventually make money irrelevant.
“My prediction is that work will be optional,” Musk said. “It’ll be like playing sports or a video game or something like that.”
He added that while the transition will require a lot of effort, the end result could be a society where people work by choice rather than necessity.
“There is basically one way to make everyone wealthy, and that is AI and robotics,” Musk said.
Robots Could Replace the Need for Money
Musk said the future he envisions would eliminate the need for traditional currency.
“My guess is, if you go out long enough, assuming there’s a continued improvement in AI and robotics, which seems likely, then money will stop being relevant at some point in the future,” he said.
He acknowledged that physical limitations like energy and resources would still apply, but suggested that intelligent machines could eventually remove the need for financial systems as we know them.
But Remember the Cybertruck?
It’s far from Musk’s only overpromise. He previously claimed Teslas would be fully autonomous by 2017 and that a fleet of robo-taxis would be on the road by 2020.
He said in 2016 that SpaceX would establish a Mars colony within a decade, unveiling a plan to launch people to Mars using a reusable rocket system he called the Interplanetary Transport System.
The Tesla Roadster, first revealed in 2017, is still undelivered as of late 2025. Other abandoned ideas include the Hyperloop, a snake-like Tesla charger, and solar-powered Superchargers.
Critics argue these announcements help build hype, raise funds, or distract from delays elsewhere.
Musk is known for grand visions, but not all of them pan out. Take the Cybertruck, for example. Musk claimed Tesla could eventually produce 500,000 Cybertrucks a year.
More than a million people placed reservations. But as of 2024, Tesla had only delivered an estimated 40,000 units.
Sales this year are even lower. Tesla sold just 16,097 Cybertrucks in the first nine months of 2025, a 38% drop compared to the same period in 2024.
Sales Fall Far Short of Expectations
Several issues have held the vehicle back. The final production model was significantly more expensive and offered less range than originally promised.
Tesla has tried various tactics to move units, including leases, discounted financing, and even scrubbing limited-edition badges from leftover inventory to sell them as standard models.
In March this year, Tesla began offering 1.99% APR financing on new Cybertruck orders for “well-qualified buyers.” That compares to a 5.84% APR without the promotion.
Tesla has also offered free lifetime Supercharging on some unsold trucks. These incentives come after efforts to lease the trucks and relabel remaining Foundation Series models.
Still, the truck hasn’t lived up to the hype. As one Electrek reader commented: “Good luck ever recovering the R&D costs.”
Critics argue Tesla should have focused its resources on a true low-cost vehicle instead of an ultra-premium truck.
Big Promises, Mixed Results
Musk’s prediction about humanoid robots may come true one day, but after the Cybertruck’s rocky rollout and a growing list of unfulfilled tech promises, many are taking a wait-and-see approach.
Political commentator Kyle Kulinski recently criticized Musk’s pattern of hype and underdelivery. “We’re kind of a nation of rubes,” he said.
“For some reason, there are certain scam artists who can just keep scamming, and they just keep getting away with it.”
Kulinski labeled Musk “the king of vaporware,” and argued that these lofty promises often serve as a tool for attracting investment and media attention without ever producing tangible results.
It’s not the first time Musk has made a sweeping forecast; some have changed the world, while others remain stalled in production issues and missed timelines.
The gap between vision and execution has become a familiar pattern. Investors and fans alike are learning to separate hype from deliverables with each new launch.
IMAGE CREDIT: “Elon Musk” by Gage Skidmore, via Flickr. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Image adjusted for layout.