Elon Musk sat down with The Economist for 85 minutes and told us the future: AI gets smarter than all of humanity in 5 years, money stops mattering by 2036, and his political views are “very centrist.”
Then he spent the rest of the interview kind of proving the opposite. We went through the full transcript, fact checked what could be checked, and found 6 moments where Elon contradicted himself in his own words.
Buckle up. It is a ride.
1. The AI timeline that keeps moving
Early in the interview, Musk made the biggest claim of the night: “I think AI may exceed the sum of human intelligence in about, in around 5 years.”
Five years. That is the number he put on the table, recorded July 23 at Tesla’s Texas Gigafactory.
But later, when asked when the robot singularity hits, he pushed it out to 10 years. And civil war in Britain? “Probably 20 years away.”
So AI beats humanity in 5, robots take over in 10, and Britain explodes in 20. The timeline apparently depends on which prediction he is defending.
2. The doom number he will not let go of
Beddoes reminded him of his past: the “pet Labradors” warning, the 2023 open letter calling for an AI pause, and that 10 to 20 percent chance of killer robots wiping out humanity he floated on Ted Cruz’s podcast.
His answer? “I’ve come to my sort of philosophical conclusion to look on the bright side.” Fair enough. People change.
But when she asked directly whether that 10 to 20 percent number still stands, he talked about the heat death of the universe instead. “A long, boring, sort of thin gray soup.”
Buddy. That is not an answer. That is a mood.
3. “I’m not that focused on Europe” (said while very focused on Europe)
Beddoes opened the Europe segment by pointing out that Musk posts about the continent a lot. His response: “I’m not that focused on Europe.”
Then he spent the next 20 minutes explaining his European interventions, defending his support of populist and far right parties, and doubling down on his “civil war in Britain” prediction.
He also claimed to have visited Britain “literally a hundred times.” When pressed on the last visit, the answer was “a few years ago.”
One hundred visits, zero recent ones, maximum confidence about the current state of the country. Okay.
4. “I haven’t said any of those things” (said about a thing he definitely said)
This one is almost too good. Beddoes described the dystopian picture Musk paints of Europe and he flatly denied it: “I haven’t said any of those things.”
She then quoted his own post, verbatim: “Civil war in Britain is inevitable. Just a question.”
His response: “Yes. And if current trends continue, it is.”
Denial and confirmation, in the same breath, about the same sentence. Nobody does it like him.
5. “Very centrist” and also “I hope I am having a bigger impact”
Musk insists he is not far right: “My political views are very centrist.” His evidence: secure borders, safe cities, sensible spending.
Beddoes pointed out that he supports parties with members she calls “real neo-Nazis,” and that his 240 million followers give his interventions real weight in Europe.
His response: “I hope I am having a bigger impact.”
Also in this interview: “I got a little too involved in politics, got carried away, frankly.” So he regrets the involvement, but wants a bigger impact. Pick a lane, king.
6. “Money won’t matter” from a man who does tax math for fun
The headline prediction: “I’ll make another prediction. Money won’t matter in 2036.”
Seconds later he was talking about his stock options, the $800 billion OpenAI valuation, and his 45 percent effective tax rate. He even explained the math: 40 percent federal, plus California state taxes, then another 45 percent when he dies, leaving him “a quarter of whatever I have.”
And then the kicker: he will pay “many trillions in tax.” His fortune is around $1 trillion. Forty five percent of that is about $450 billion, not trillions.
That is not how math works, Elon. We checked.
Wait, some of his claims actually check out
For fairness: he said he holds the record for the most taxes paid by a human. He paid roughly $11 billion in federal income tax in 2021, the largest single year payment on record. That one is real.
He said China produces more electricity than the US, Europe, and India combined. China generates about 9.4 trillion kWh a year versus roughly 8.9 trillion for those three together. Correct.
He said US interest payments exceed defense spending. Net interest passed defense in fiscal 2024. Also correct.
But the Gates Foundation has around $75 billion, not the $50 billion he claimed, and MacKenzie Scott has given away roughly $17 billion, not $50 billion. He also called her “MacKenzie Bezos,” a name she dropped in 2021.
The bottom line
The Economist interview is worth watching because it captures all the Elons at once: the abundance utopian, the doom merchant, the politician, the engineer, and the guy who tells you money will not matter while calculating his own tax bill on air.
Whether you love him or hate him, you have to admit one thing.
He is definitely not boring.
