MAGA Republican President Donald Trump's Treasury Secretary, multimillionaire Scott Bessent, decided to parrot the predictions of trillionaire Elon Musk about the future finances of average Americans.
In an interview with fellow Trump sycophant and Fox News personality Sean Hannity, the host asked Bessent about the claims Musk made about artificial intelligence. Hannity said Musk claimed in the near future, Americans wouldn't need to save for their retirement because of the "abundance" AI will create.
Hannity said:
"Elon Musk gave an interview to I believe to 'The Economist' and he said that in five to six years we will have ,you know, more than—we'll have five times the size of the economy we have now. And he talked about abundance."
"He talked about every American having every need—and there won't be even a need to save, you know, for your retirement like we have historically because of this quote 'abundance' that he believes AI will create."
The Fox fixture then asked Trump’s Treasury Secretary:
"Do you believe that?"
Bessent responded:
"I do, but I think I would change the timeline. I've seen Elon speak for a long time and he is—look, his record speaks for itself in terms, as an inventor, as a venture capitalist, as a great American."
Musk has had an on-again, off-again relationship with the Trump administration. They were united during the 2024 presidential campaign and the early portion of Trump's second term.
But after Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) drew intense backlash, they parted less than amicably, with Musk posting messages attacking Trump on X and Trump threatening to deport Musk while the Trump administration disavowed DOGE. Despite the animosity online, Musk was invited to join the POTUS on state visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and China in 2025 and 2026.
You can see Bessent's comments cosigning Musk's claims here:
Bessent continued about Musk:
"He's normally early. He's just so far ahead of the curve."
"He sees things that no one else sees. But I do think we are building this incredible economy that we can't even imagine."
During his recent contentious interview with Zanny Minton Beddoes for The Economist, Musk said he believes that in a few years artificial intelligence will exceed human intelligence and soon cash will become meaningless. Musk made similar claims in January on the Moonshots with Peter Diamandis podcast.
Musk claimed saving money will become irrelevant, saying:
"Don’t worry about squirreling money away for retirement in like 10 or 20 years—it won’t matter."
While Bessent touted Musk as a visionary, others had a far different assessment.
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Despite being declared correct by Bessent, when Business Insider surveyed seven personal finance and AI experts about Musk's advice, all of them responded that Americans should disregard what the then-billionaire said and keep saving.
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