Elon Musk Declares ’Money is Dead’—Says Bitcoin’s Energy Backing Makes It the Last Asset Standing

Elon Musk just dropped another financial bombshell—this time declaring traditional currency obsolete while hailing Bitcoin as the ultimate survivor. Here’s why he thinks energy-backed crypto will outlast fiat.

The Tesla CEO didn’t mince words: 'Money as we know it is dying. But Bitcoin? It’s got staying power—because it’s literally backed by energy.' Cue Wall Street’s collective eye-roll.

Musk’s latest provocation cuts straight to crypto’s core debate: Is Bitcoin digital gold or just a high-voltage Ponzi scheme? Either way, bankers won’t like his answer.

One thing’s clear—while central banks print money like Monopoly tickets, Bitcoin’s proof-of-work algorithm burns real electricity. That, Musk argues, makes it the only 'hard' asset left. (Sorry, gold bugs.)

Will this age better than his 'Dogecoin to the moon' phase? Only time—and the next market crash—will tell. Meanwhile, your local hedge fund manager just ordered another martini.

Energy Replaces Money In Musk’s Future Vision And Bitcoin Fits The Model

In that far future setting, he noted, “they don’t have money either, and everyone can pretty much have whatever they want.”

Even in such a post-scarcity world, Musk said that some forms of value still matter. There are “some fundamental currencies, if you will, that are physics-based,” he told Kamath, then shifted the conversation toward energy. “Energy is the true currency,” he said.

That line set up his argument for why bitcoin fits this picture. “This is why I say Bitcoin is based on energy,” Musk continued.

The network’s design forces miners to spend real electricity and computation to secure the system, which in his view ties digital value to the physical world.

Musk Frames Energy As The Ultimate Store Of Power Outside Government Policy

Musk then drew a clear line between energy and political power. “You can’t legislate energy,” he said. “You can’t just, you know, pass a law and suddenly have a lot of energy.” He called it “very difficult to to generate energy, especially to harness energy in a useful way, to do useful work.”

“We probably will just have energy, power generation as the de facto currency,” he said. In that framing, whoever controls the most efficient and abundant energy sources effectively controls the strongest “currency.”

That idea resonates with Bitcoin’s proof-of-work model, which already converts electricity and hardware into verifiable digital scarcity. Supporters often argue that this LINK to real-world energy cost creates a monetary system that cannot be inflated by central banks or rewritten by politicians.

Regulators And Activists Still Clash Over Whether Bitcoin Hurts Or Helps Energy Systems

Musk’s remarks arrive while Bitcoin’s energy use remains one of the most contested issues in policy circles. Environmental critics worry about carbon footprints and grid strain, while advocates say mining can incentivize cleaner generation and better load balancing for power networks.

He did not set any timeline for a shift to an energy-based value regime, and his scenario assumes a level of AI and robotic abundance that is still speculative.

For now, national currencies and conventional payment rails continue to dominate trade, savings and salaries, while Bitcoin trades as an asset that doubles as a long-term bet on a different kind of monetary order.