In his latest interview, Tesla CEO Elon Musk made an important declaration regarding the changing nature of transactions and currencies. Talking about bitcoin and associating its intrinsic attributes as based on energy, Musk’s words opened up a new dialogue on social media about the capabilities of energy sources to dictate financial transactions in the near future.
Musk has previously been vocal about how energy will be the ultimate basis of the global economy in the days to come. Formerly citing the influence and inexhaustible quality of solar energy across the universe, the chief executive spoke extensively on the kind of impact energy, along with cryptocurrencies, could create in the world market in the near future.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk describes bitcoin as energy-based
In the November 30 episode of his podcast, host Nikhil Kamath spoke to Elon Musk about his views on energy, the dynamic aspects of the world market, social media, and the potential of AI technology.
During their conversation, Kamath asked about the future of money. To this, Musk responded that in the “long term, money disappears in concept.” He further added, “In a future where anyone can have anything, I think you no longer need money as a database for labor allocation.”
In this context, he mentioned that advancements in AI and robotics will lead to the dramatic decline of “the relevance of money.” With this, Musk said, “Some fundamental currencies, if you will, that are physics based, so energy is the true currency. This is why I said Bitcoin in based on energy.”
Musk further elaborated on the legal dimensions that could influence the prevalence of energy as a currency in the future. He said, “You can’t legislate energy you can’t just pass a law and suddenly have a lot of energy.”
In addition, he also spoke of the challenges that emerge due to this. Musk stated, “It’s very difficult to generate energy, or especially harness energy in a useful way to do a useful work.” He finally concluded his views with the point, “We will just have energy, or power generation, as the de facto currency.”
Related: Tesla CEO Elon Musk Makes Brutally Honest Claim About Solar Electricity
Netizens ponder over possibilities of energy as currency
Social media users were immediately drawn to Elon Musk’s views on energy becoming the currency of the future. Viewers flocked to @BitcoinMagazine‘s post on X to share their opinion. Many expressed their astonishment at learning that energy too could be a mode of transaction like money. Others appreciated the acknowledgement Bitcoin received in the interview for the possibilities it holds as one of the most promising replacements of money.
So weβre trading watts for coins now? Just when I thought I understood money!
— πͺπππππ πππ (@_CryptoZee) November 30, 2025
heβs not wrong. Bitcoin is absolutely fundamental and will continue to grow exponentially over the next 4-8 years. Eventually I see it growing YOY similar to the SPY index
— Paramyx (@imonthegas) November 30, 2025
Other netizens, however, looked at Elon Musk’s idea from a different angle. Some pointed out the obvious nature of his remark, stating that money is in fact a measure of one’s energy and time spent on a particular task and compensated for financially. Another group of users mentioned that the transfer and reversibility of energy is not applicable in discussions involving finances and transactions.
Energy is true currency but bitcoin is spent energy. Not the other way around. You can not spend bitcoin and reverse all the energy that was spent to mine it
— Lord Maximus (@adztwiz) November 30, 2025
Money has always been other peopleβs time and energy
— Huss Mash (@hussein_9797) November 30, 2025
Although there does appear a significant gap between Elon Musk’s vision of a money-free, energy based economy, it goes without saying that the concept of money may become redundant in the near future. The only question that remains is the alternatives of money that will be accessible as well as useful for people from all walks of life.
Also Read: Elon Musk Believes Programming Morality Into AI Can Be Detrimental
