Elon Musk believes that humanoid robots like Capgemini and Orano’s Hoxo will soon be commonplace | Credit: Capgemini Credit: Capgemini

Elon Musk’s surprise appearance at the WEF in Davos saw him predict that AI will surpass collective human intelligence and robots will outnumber people

Elon Musk made an unexpected appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, marking a notable reversal for the tech billionaire who has previously criticised the annual gathering as “elitist” and “unelected”.

During a conversation with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Elon addressed global leaders and industry professionals, outlining his vision for an AI-driven future.

He framed his work across Tesla, SpaceX and xAI around a singular ambition: to “maximise the probability that civilisation has a great future”. Central to this vision is the rapid advancement of AI and robotics, technologies he believes will fundamentally reshape human society within the next decade.

AI could surpass human intelligence

Elon provided a striking prediction for the timeline of artificial general intelligence, suggesting that AI may soon exceed human cognitive capabilities across all domains.

“I think we might have AI that is smarter than any human by the end of 2026,” he says, adding that this milestone would likely occur “no later than next year”.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk

Looking further ahead, he predicted that, by “2030 or 2031, AI will be smarter than all of humanity collectively”.

According to Elon, the progression represents a major shift in the context of civilisation. He suggested that the exponential growth of AI capabilities would eventually “saturate human needs” and trigger unprecedented economic expansion on a global scale.

This transformation could be powered by AI systems that exceed the combined intellectual capacity of every human on Earth.

Robots outnumbering humans

Perhaps the most ambitious prediction from Elon’s Davos appearance was his assertion that “there will be more robots than people” in the coming decades.

He argued that the convergence of advanced AI and robotics represents “the path to abundance for all,” potentially offering solutions to global poverty and labour shortages.

Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robots

“The only way to do this is AI and robotics,” Elon told Larry during the interview.

He envisions a future where robots become “ubiquitous,” driving “an explosion in the global economy” that could dwarf current industrial output.

This transition would fundamentally alter the nature of work, as “everyone on Earth” may eventually rely on robotic assistance for both domestic and industrial tasks.

Tesla’s Optimus launching commercially

Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus, could progress from factory prototype to consumer product by 2026, according to Elon’s timeline.

He revealed that Optimus units are currently performing “simple tasks in the factory,” with more sophisticated capabilities expected soon.

“By the end of this year, I think they will be doing more complex tasks and, probably by the end of 2026, I think we’d be selling humanoid robots to the public,” he says.

Elon expressed confidence that, by late 2026, the robots would achieve “very high reliability” and be capable of performing almost any task requested by a human owner. He highlighted potential applications in elder care for ageing populations, suggesting robots could provide essential support in societies facing demographic challenges.

He asked the audience: “Who wouldn’t want a robot to, assuming it’s very safe, watch over your kids, take care of your pets?”

He framed humanoid robots as domestic utilities that could become staples in households worldwide, fundamentally reducing the burden of manual labour and care work.

Safety concerns remain critical

Despite his optimism about AI and robotics, Elon issued warnings about safety protocols.

“We need to be very careful with robotics,” he went on. “We don’t want to find ourselves in a James Cameron movie. Love his movies, but we don’t want to be in Terminator, obviously.”

This emphasis on safety comes as his AI startup, xAI, faces scrutiny from international regulators over “sexually explicit content” generated by its Grok chatbot, leading to demands for tighter safeguards.

Tesla’s Elon Musk has seen his xAI Grok chatbot running into controversy over explicit images (Credit: Getty)

Elon also addressed the energy infrastructure required for AI development, arguing that securing sufficient power is “critical” as demand soars. He suggested that tariff barriers on solar technology could be hindering the deployment of clean energy needed to power massive data centres currently being built for AI applications.

The billionaire’s predictions paint a picture of a world transformed by intelligent machines within the next five years, fundamentally altering economics, labour and daily life.

When asked about his personal ambitions and his well-known goal of colonising Mars, Musk joked about his mortality on the Red Planet: “People ask me ‘do I want to die on Mars? and I’m like: ‘yes, but not on impact’.”