Elon Musk says AI will add US$30 trillion to global economy, but power crunch looms by 2027

City Voices Trending Hong Kong Business International Racing Lifestyle Showbiz Sport Opinion Games ePaper City Voices Trending Hong Kong Business International Racing Lifestyle Showbiz Sport Opinion Games BUSINESS FINANCE Elon Musk says AI will add US$30 trillion to global economy, but power crunch looms by 2027 FINANCE 4 hours ago SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk speaks via video conference to delegates at the G20 Innovation Ministerial summit, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S., September 1, 2026. REUTERS Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, said artificial intelligence is expected to add 20-30 percent to global economic growth, equivalent to US$20 trillion to US$30 trillion (HK$156 trillion to HK$234 trillion) of production. ADVERTISEMENT SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT Musk said at the G20 innovation summit that the growth could be even 10 times more by combining with humanoid robotics technology, noting that AI and robots can bring an extraordinary amount of production capacity. He expected that humanoid robots will exceed 1 billion over the next 10 years, and their productivity would be at least five times that of humans. Furthermore, he said AI's capabilities in programming, engineering design, and other digital fields will become extremely outstanding within the next 12 to 18 months. By the end of next year, Musk said AI will be able to handle nearly all digital tasks that do not require reshaping atoms to a Stockfish level, at which point humans will find it difficult to compete with AI in software development. However, Musk warned that the AI industry is facing a power supply shortage. He estimated that by 2027, AI chip computing will face a power shortfall of at least 15 gigawatts, given that AI chip production is growing at about 40 percent to 50 percent annually, while power supply growth cannot keep pace with AI computing demand. Musk called on global regulators to adopt a more open attitude toward AI and other emerging technologies, arguing that such technologies should be based on the principle of default legal rather than default illegal — avoiding unnecessary barriers to accelerate technological innovation. Elon Musk G20 AI humanoid economy global 𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓ Top News Read More Berkshire CEO Abel says AI to help power growth FINANCE 2 hours ago Nvidia CEO urges G20 to avoid AI rules on 'theoretical' harms INNOVATION 3 hours ago Tencent-backed Enflame IPO draws 6,109 times online demand FINANCE 3 hours ago SpaceXAI to launch Grok 4.7 model in 10 days to outpace rivals INNOVATION 7 hours ago Hong Kong students explore AI and emerging industries through six-week program NEWS 7 hours ago Singapore economists see 2026 growth at 5pc, central bank survey says FINANCE 10 hours ago Taiwanese borrow to buy stocks in AI-fuelled frenzy CHINA 11 hours ago Dell again lifts annual forecasts as AI demand powers record results FINANCE 13 hours ago G20 finance chiefs except China back action on distorted trade CHINA 14 hours ago John Ternus takes over as Apple enters era of AI, foldable phones WORLD 14 hours ago Mainland man arrested for alleged in-flight theft on HK Express flight from Bangkok NEWS 20 hours ago Angela Stanton faces controversy over mainland makeup artist’s alleged illegal work at Miss Hong Kong final ENTERTAINMENT 11 hours ago Advertising veteran, social media executive Kitty Lun dies after Fo Tan pool drowning NEWS 01-09-2026 11:14 HKT Contact Us About Us Terms of Use Privacy Policy Statement Copyright Policy & License Ethics Statement | Subscriptions Print Advertising Digital Advertising Street Points Copyright © 2026 The Standard - A division of Sing Tao News Corporation Limited. All rights reserved.