Image: Steve Jurvetson, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
“We are in the most interesting era in history.” This is how Elon Musk opened his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, speaking with BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink.
Musk highlighted the potential of solar energy and battery storage in the United States. “Solar and batteries alone could provide half the energy used annually in the US, taking up a negligible amount of space,” he said. “The same could be done in Europe: sparsely populated areas in Spain and Sicily could generate the electricity Europe needs.”
He noted that high rates complicate such plans in the United States. “SpaceX and Tesla will be producing 100 GW per year at our factory in three years. I encourage others to do the same,” Musk said. “Despite the tariffs, China produces solar cells at very low costs.”
Musk also noted that Tesla has started using Optimus humanoid robots for basic factory tasks, expects them to perform more complex functions by 2026 and plans to make them available to the public in 2027.
“I believe the decisive factor for AI deployment is energy,” he said. “AI production is growing exponentially, but electricity is only growing at 4% per year. By 2026, we will be producing more chips than we can power.”
He added that China is increasing energy generation to meet demand, largely through solar energy.
Looking further ahead, Musk suggested that the cheapest energy for AI could come from space. The plan is to transport solar energy generated in space to Earth, a goal he expects to achieve within two to three years.
He concluded on a hopeful note: “I want to encourage everyone to be optimistic and have hope for the future. You live a better life if you are optimistic and your predictions don’t come true than if you are pessimistic and they do.”
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