Musk: The U.S. debt issue can only be solved by AI and robots

According to a report by Financial Associated Press, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, reflected on his experience leading the government efficiency department in a preview of biographer Walter Isaacson's new podcast "Builders." Musk stated that cutting government spending has failed to address the U.S. fiscal deficit from within the government, and the only way to solve the U.S. national debt issue is through AI and robotics; it is impossible to rely solely on spending cuts to resolve the problem.

Musk mentioned that Trump, both houses of Congress, and even the judicial system lack the genuine willingness to cut government spending. Trump wants to be liked and does not enjoy being blamed for funding cuts. He admitted that he got a bit caught up at that time, spending too long away from his companies; if he could do it over, his official tenure should only last one or two months instead of four, and he should have returned earlier to focus on AI. When asked if it was intoxicating to be in the West Wing of the White House, he said there was indeed a bit of that feeling, as it was pretty cool to witness major decisions in the Oval Office.

The report cited campaign finance disclosures and a spokesperson for Musk's political action committee, stating that political spending in this election cycle has accumulated to approximately $366 million, with at least $276 million flowing to Republican-related organizations and their super political action committees since July of this year. It also mentioned that U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated that a 3% economic growth rate is expected to help escape debt through growth; Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark stated at the IMF-World Bank annual meeting that under extreme scenarios where AI capabilities rapidly advance and become widespread, the U.S. GDP could reach $44.4 trillion by 2030, a figure that is not a baseline forecast. The U.S. Congressional Budget Office projects a federal deficit of $1.9 trillion for fiscal year 2026, expanding to $3.1 trillion by 2036.