When did Elon Musk first publicly support universal basic income?

1. Earliest public endorsement: CNBC, 2016 — automation as the trigger

The earliest specific public statement in the available reporting dates to a 2016 CNBC interview in which Musk said “there’s a pretty good chance we end up with a universal basic income, or something like that, due to automation,” a line cited directly by the World Economic Forum summary of tech supporters ^[1]. That phrasing frames his view as a conditional prediction—UBI is likely if automation displaces large numbers of jobs—rather than an immediate policy prescription.

2. How Musk’s language evolved: from “UBI” to “universal high income”

Reporting from 2024–2025 shows Musk shifting from the phrase “universal basic income” to broader, bolder talk of “universal high income” and money becoming “irrelevant.” In appearances on Joe Rogan and at Tesla shareholder events, he described a benign automated future where robots eliminate scarcity and governments should provide universal income, sometimes stressing a level of income higher than a bare-bones UBI ^{[2] [3] [4]}.

3. Context: automation, Optimus, and recurring public moments

Musk’s recent restatements are tied to his robotics project Optimus and to public-facing platforms—podcasts, shareholder meetings, and press coverage—where he links advances in AI/robotics to the economic case for universal income. Business Insider and Newsweek excerpts show Musk arguing that if machines make most labor unnecessary, society will need to rethink income distribution ^{[5] [2] [3]}.

4. Consensus among sources on timing — 2016 as the first noted instance

Multiple outlets in the collection point to 2016 as the first clearly documented instance of Musk publicly entertaining UBI as likely due to automation ^{[1] [6] [7]}. Later pieces from 2024–2025 treat UBI—or a more expansive “universal high income”—as a recurring theme in his commentary ^{[2] [3]}.

5. Alternative perspectives and dissent in the record

Available reporting records other prominent tech figures and politicians debating the idea: Andrew Yang is noted as a mainstream UBI proponent, and figures like Bill Gates (mentioned in later coverage) have expressed skepticism about timing or affordability, showing the debate is contested even among wealthy technologists ^{[5] [7]}. The Frontiers piece also places Musk among a cohort of “AI elites” promoting UBI, and it raises concerns about elite-driven narratives and power dynamics ^[8].

6. What the sources do not say (limitations)

Available sources do not provide a verbatim transcript or exact date beyond the 2016 CNBC reference for Musk’s earliest public UBI remark; they also do not document any formal policy proposals he authored or legislation he sponsored endorsing UBI ^[1]. If you seek a primary-source clip or exact date/time-stamped quote beyond the summaries cited, that material is not present in the current reporting ^{[1] [2]}.

7. Why this matters: motive, messaging, and political implications

The sources indicate Musk’s advocacy is framed by technological forecasting—he presents UBI as an economic necessity in response to automation rather than as a primarily redistributive political project ^{[1] [2]}. Critical academic coverage warns that when powerful tech figures champion policy ideas, their messaging can carry implicit agendas—shaping public debate in ways that may prioritize tech-centric solutions ^[8].

8. Bottom line for readers

Based on the collected reporting, the first publicly documented instance of Musk endorsing a UBI-like idea is his 2016 CNBC remark that a universal basic income is a “pretty good chance” outcome of automation ^[1]. He has since revisited and amplified the concept—calling for universal income or “universal high income” in 2024–2025 conversations tied to AI and Tesla’s Optimus robot ^{[2] [3]}.