On Nov. 6, local time, at Tesla's 2025 Annual Shareholders Meeting, Elon Musk put forward this idea: traditional money may disappear, and the value of goods and services will be measured in units of energy.
In his vision, energy (with watts as its unit) could become the ultimate measure of value, as everything in the world operates by consuming energy: from factories producing steel, to household appliances running, to even scrolling through videos in bed. Energy's universal applicability makes it a natural candidate for a standardized measure of value.
Musk's idea ties closely to Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots, which are designed for industrial and service automation. These robots can work around the clock without rest, and once scaled up, the marginal cost of producing additional goods would approach zero. For example, when a factory produces an additional car, it wouldn't require hiring more workers or paying for overtime.
In contrast, traditional currencies derive their value from scarcity—gold is valuable because it's rare, and the supply of cash is regulated. But if goods become nearly free to produce, traditional currencies could lose their relevance, and value would naturally shift to the most fundamental resource: energy.
Yet practical hurdles exist: electricity is limited by supply and storage. Whether this concept of wealth is a forward-looking prediction or simply a utopian fantasy will depend on future advancements in technology and time to test its feasibility.
Related News:
1-minute News | US govt shutdown chaos: Widespread disorder grips whole nation
1-minute News | Aliens not calling? NASA scientist: They find humans too 'boring'
Comment