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Extinction riskIndustryChief Executive Officer, SpaceX4 entries on the record

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Elon Musk

Elon Musk co-founded OpenAI, called AI humanity’s biggest existential threat in 2014 and signed the 2023 pause letter, then founded xAI, now part of SpaceX; he puts the odds of AI annihilating humanity at 10 to 20 percent.

Roles

  1. Dec 2015 – 2018Co-founder and Co-chair, OpenAILeft the board in 2018; has since sued OpenAI over its restructuring.Source →
  2. Mar 2023 – presentFounder, xAIIncorporated March 2023 and announced publicly on 12 July 2023; merged with X Corp in March 2025.Source →
  3. 2 Feb 2026 – presentChief Executive Officer, SpaceXSpaceX acquired xAI in February 2026; he remains CEO of the combined company.Source →

On the record

  1. 23 Jul 2026 · Interview · The Economist

    It would be an exercise in vanity for me to think that I would be controlling supergenius AI.

    Chief Executive Officer, SpaceX at the time

    Interview with editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes, reported by Business Insider; he said the risk was "not zero" and chose to "look on the bright side".

    Elon Musk says it's worth the risk of killer AI because 'abundance for all' is more likely →

  2. 28 Feb 2025 · Podcast · The Joe Rogan Experience

    The probability of a good outcome is like 80%

    Founder, xAI at the time

    Business Insider's report; the "20% chance of annihilation" in the headline is the outlet's framing of the complement.

    Elon Musk says there's 'only a 20% chance of annihilation' with AI →

  3. 22 Mar 2023 · Open letter · Future of Life Institute

    Therefore, we call on all AI labs to immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4.

    Founder, xAI at the time

    Musk's signature was confirmed by TIME (https://time.com/6266679/musk-ai-open-letter/); he announced xAI four months later.

    Pause Giant AI Experiments: An Open Letter →

  4. 24 Oct 2014 · Speech · MIT AeroAstro Centennial Symposium

    If I had to guess at what our biggest existential threat is, it's probably that. … With artificial intelligence we're summoning the demon.

    First reported by The Washington Post on 24 October 2014; he also called for "some regulatory oversight, maybe at the national and international level."

    Elon Musk Compares Building Artificial Intelligence To "Summoning The Demon" →