Image of Elon Musk by Frederic Legrand – COMEO via Shutterstock
The U.S. national debt has grown so enormous that another trillion can almost sound like a rounding error. But for Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk, the numbers point to a much bigger problem — and his proposed solution involves artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and a race against the clock.
Musk issued the warning during an episode of the “Dwarkesh Podcast” in February 2026, arguing that the U.S. could face financial failure without AI and robotics.
“In the absence of AI and robotics, we’re actually totally screwed because the national debt is piling up like crazy,” Musk said during the interview.
He then pointed to the cost of servicing the debt.
“The…