The Stupidest Thing Elon Musk Said This Week - CleanTechnica

The article from CleanTechnica critiques a statement made by Elon Musk during Tesla’s recent shareholder conference call, where Musk claimed that Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus, could help create a world without poverty by providing everyone access to exceptional medical care, including surgical capabilities. The author strongly disputes this notion, emphasizing that poverty is fundamentally a social and political issue rather than a technological one. They argue that a humanoid robot, which is still far from being capable of performing surgery or being widely available, especially at an estimated future cost of $20,000 to $25,000, is unlikely to address poverty or healthcare access meaningfully. The article further contextualizes Musk’s claim within broader societal issues, noting the current economic inequality in the United States, described as a "second Gilded Age," where wealth concentration and systemic rigging by powerful interests exacerbate poverty. It references economist Robert Reich’s commentary on the growing CEO-to-worker pay ratio and the failure of trickle-down economics to alleviate