Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX chief who spent months inside Washington leading President Donald Trump’s DOGE, has made America’s ballooning debt one of his favorite warnings. The billionair
Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX chief who spent months inside Washington leading President Donald Trump’s DOGE, has made America’s ballooning debt one of his favorite warnings.
The billionaire went from cost-cutting crusader to one of DOGE’s sharpest critics of how it played out, saying Trump “likes to be liked” and that he “got carried away” with the effort. Through it all, his message on the debt hasn’t changed.
From a February podcast where he warned the U.S. is “1000% going to go bankrupt” to an October interview where he said Washington can’t “save our way there,” Musk keeps saying that only AI and robots can pull America out of the hole.
Musk’s bleakest warning about America’s finances is looking harder to ignore.
“We are 1000% going to go bankrupt as a country and fail as a country without AI and robots,” Musk said on the Dwarkesh Podcast earlier this year. “Nothing else will solve the national debt.”
Nine months later, the U.S. national debt stands at about $40.6 trillion, according to the latest information from Peter G. Peterson Foundation’s debt clock, which tracks Treasury data.
Related: Dave Ramsey's investing advice falls short, study finds
That works out to $118,939 for every person in the country, the foundation said. Interest alone costs the government more than $2.8 billion a day.
The foundation points to structural drivers behind the pile-up, including an aging population, rising healthcare costs, higher interest rates and a tax system that does not raise enough to cover promised benefits.
Interest costs are set to nearly double within a decade, the foundation projects.
Musk has repeatedly flagged that interest payments now exceed the entire U.S. military budget.
“What makes America strong is our willingness to build and leave a better future for the next generation. Unfortunately, our growing debt is doing the opposite,” the Peter G. Peterson Foundation says on its debt clock page.
“The only way we’re going to solve the national debt is with AI and robots,” Musk said in a recent interview. “We’re not gonna solve it by trying to save our way there.”
According to the data, borrowing costs are adding to the pressure. The 10-year Treasury yield hit 5.29% in late September, while the 30-year reached 5.61%, its highest since 2002.
Bitcoin’s capped supply of 21 million coins has made it a popular pitch as a hedge against runaway government debt.
Musk has also warned that if AI and robots boost output, the government may need to issue dollars to people or face “massive disinflation.” But printing more dollars risks weakening the currency. That is where Bitcoin supporters see an opening.
Musk has argued that Bitcoin, unlike “fake” fiat money, is backed by energy and cannot be debased the way printed dollars can.
Musk has had a mixed relationship with Bitcoin. In 2021, he called himself “a supporter of Bitcoin" but months later, Tesla stopped accepting it as payment over environmental concerns. It also sold 75% of its stake in 2022.
Musk’s solution hinges on technology rather than hard assets, but whether AI and robotics can address a debt burden exceeding $40 trillion remains an open question.
Tesla holds 11,509 BTC, while SpaceX disclosed 18,712 BTC in its IPO filing.
If you follow our market coverage, don’t miss the Roundtable 100. Updated every Friday, it's a power ranking of the 100 most investable tech stocks, including digital assets. Check out the latest RTB 100 rankings at roundtable100.com
Related: Bitcoin's $350,000 price target comes with a terrifying warning, analyst says
