Sanders says Musk’s AI will take millions of jobs
By Paul Bean
Billionaire Elon Musk and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) exchanged words on X earlier this week on their divisions on technological progress in AI, job displacement, and the role of government in the new economy.
The back-and forth between Sanders and Musk began on December 17 when Musk posted: “The takers like Bernie will eventually follow the makers, but they’re cowards too and lack any sense of adventure, so they will wait until it is safe.”
This was in response to an earlier post made by Sanders where he announced that he was “pushing for a moratorium on the construction of data centers that are powering the unregulated sprint to develop & deploy AI. The moratorium will give democracy a chance to catch up, and ensure that the benefits of technology work for all of us, not just the 1%.”
Musk’s remark referenced a response to Bernie’s post from user @Andercot about the challenges of building in space versus navigating Earth’s current bureaucratic hurdles, framing “makers” as bold pioneers willing to take risks, while criticizing “takers,” including figures like Sanders, as followers who will wait for safety and redistribution over adventure and creation.
Sanders quickly responded by quoting Musk’s post: “Yes, Elon. I do lack ‘any sense of adventure’ when that ‘adventure’ will, as you have made clear, force tens of millions of workers out of their jobs. The goal of AI and robotics must be to improve life for all people, not just to make you and your fellow oligarchs even richer.”
Musk has not directly replied to Sanders since.
Late last night (12/18), Sanders posted a video directly addressing Elon Musk, sarcastically praising the billionaire’s vision of an AI-driven future while raising pointed questions about the path to “utopia” amid potential mass job displacement.
The post quotes a months-old statement from Musk, dated August 2025: “There will be universal high income (not merely basic income). Everyone will have the best medical care, food, home, transport and everything else. Sustainable abundance.”
In the video, Sanders challenges Musk on his concerns about the interim period, asking how unemployed workers will afford essentials like housing, food, and healthcare while waiting for abundance.
“I look forward to hearing about how you and your other oligarch friends are going to provide working people with the magnificent life that you promise,” Sanders says.
Just days before Sanders’ latest video, Musk doubled down on his utopian vision by responding to discussions about new “Trump Accounts” for newborns, stating that such savings initiatives are unnecessary.
He wrote on X: “It is certainly a nice gesture of the Dells, but there will be no poverty in the future and so no need to save money. There will be universal high income.”