Tech billionaire Elon Musk took a dig at US President Donald Trump's newly announced Gaza “Board of Peace” during an appearance at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on Thursday, Jan. 22. Musk appeared on stage alongside BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and opened the discussion with a joke that appeared to mock both the name and intent of the initiative.
“I heard about the formation of the peace summit, and I was like, ‘Is that P-I-E-C-E?' … A little piece of Greenland, a little piece of Venezuela… all we want is a piece,” Musk said, drawing laughter from the audience.
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Chaired by Trump, the board was originally conceived as a small group of world leaders to oversee the Gaza ceasefire plan. But the scope of the initiative has since widened, with the Trump administration inviting dozens of countries and suggesting the body could evolve into a broader conflict-mediation platform, according to a report in NDTV.
Musk's presence at Davos came as a surprise, as his name was added to the speaker roster at the last minute, just a day after Trump's address.
Robots And AI
Musk also spoke at length about the future impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, predicting a transformation of society. He said that robots would reduce the need for human labour and could eventually outnumber people.
“We will actually make so many robots and AI that they will actually saturate human needs,” he said, adding, “My prediction is that there will be more robots than people.”
Musk said Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots would be capable of performing simple factory tasks by the end of this year, with more complex industrial work expected within the next 12 months, reported Euronews. He also added that robots could play a role in domestic life. “Who wouldn't want a robot to, assuming it's very safe, watch over your kids, take care of your pets?” Musk said.
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Extraterrestrial Life And Mars' Fascination
He repeated his claim about extraterrestrial life as well. According to Euronews, Musk said, “I'm often asked: ‘Are there aliens among us?' And I say, I am one, but they don't believe me. If anyone would know if there were aliens among us, it would be me.”
Musk also joked about his long-standing fascination with Mars. According to Forbes, during the conversation, he recalled being asked whether he would like to die on the Red Planet. “I've been asked a few times, do you want to die on Mars?” Musk said. “And I'm like, yes, but just not on impact,” he added, prompting laughter from the audience.
Musk's History Of Davos Scepticism
Musk has been openly critical of the World Economic Forum for several years. The Forbes report stated that in 2023, he reacted to a video of the event's opening ceremony on X by asking, “How is WEF/Davos even a thing?” and adding, “Are they trying to be the boss of Earth!?”
He went on to compare the summit to the message board 4chan, known for hosting extremist viewpoints, joking, “There should be a game show: ‘4Chan or Davos, who said it?'” The year before, Musk had publicly stated that he had declined an invitation to attend the conference.
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