Elon Musk Predicts AI Could Boost Global Economy by 20-30%

ChainCatcher report: On Tuesday, at the G20 summit in Asheville, North Carolina, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, stated via video link that the productivity gains from AI are already evident, and robotics will push productivity to even higher levels. He predicted that AI could increase the global economic size by 20% to 30%, adding approximately $20 trillion to $30 trillion in annual economic output. Musk forecast that within the next decade, the number of humanoid robots worldwide will reach one billion, each capable of producing at least five times more than a human; widespread adoption of humanoid robots could expand the global economy by more than tenfold. He also predicted that by the end of next year, AI will be able to handle virtually all digital tasks that do not involve altering the physical world, with AI software reaching Stockfish-level performance, making humans unable to compete in software development. He expects AI to become exceptionally proficient in all forms of engineering and digital work within 12 to 18 months. Musk made these remarks as SpaceX intensifies its investment in AI. SpaceX’s AI business generated $2.6 billion in revenue in the second quarter, a 247% year-over-year increase. The company invested $15.8 billion in AI infrastructure during the second quarter, primarily for the expansion of the Colossus II data center, accounting for approximately 86% of its total capital expenditures. Recently, SpaceX acquired the AI programming platform Cursor for $60 billion and launched its latest AI model, Grok 4.6.