RM Elon Musk says humans are ‘pre-programmed to die’ and longevity is ‘solvable’, raising huge questions about the future of health
Elon Musk is known for making ambitious claims, but one of his most provocative ideas may be his belief that human aging is not inevitable. According to the Tesla CEO, extending human lifespan is an engineering challenge—one he believes can be solved without extraordinary difficulty.
Speaking recently on the Moonshots with Peter Diamandis podcast, the 54-year-old billionaire argued that humans are essentially “programmed” to die, and that modifying this biological code could allow people to live much longer lives.
“You’re pre-programmed to die,” Musk said. “If you change the program, you will live longer.”
He pointed to the fact that the human body appears to age uniformly as evidence that a central mechanism controls the process. People don’t experience one limb aging faster than another, he noted, suggesting the presence of a biological “clock” that keeps the entire body in sync.
“When you think about how synchronized aging is across the body, that clock must be very obvious,” Musk explained. “Why doesn’t someone have an old left arm and a young right arm?”
Scientists agree that aging is influenced by a range of interconnected systems, including genetics and hormonal signaling, which help coordinate how tissues age over time.
A technological future for medicine
Musk’s comments come amid rapid advances in artificial intelligence and robotics, which he believes will dramatically reshape healthcare. He predicts that within five years, humanoid robots could outperform human surgeons, leading to a level of medical care far superior to what exists today.
He pointed to existing technologies such as LASIK eye surgery as early examples of machines surpassing human precision in medicine. In his view, relying on robotic accuracy is preferable to even the most skilled human hands.
“I wouldn’t want the best ophthalmologist using a handheld laser on my eye,” Musk said. “This is where medicine is headed.”
According to Musk, robotic surgeons—such as Tesla’s humanoid robot Optimus—could operate without fatigue or human error, potentially offering consistently high-quality care to everyone. He even suggested that future healthcare could surpass the standard currently available to world leaders.
“Everyone will have access to medical care better than what the president has today,” he said.
Concerns about living too long
Despite his optimism about extending lifespan, Musk has expressed reservations about the societal impact of extreme longevity. He has previously distanced himself from the longevity movement embraced by other tech billionaires, saying he would rather die than live to 100 with severe cognitive decline or become a burden to others.
He has also warned that excessively long lives could slow social progress.
“If people live too long, society becomes rigid,” Musk said. “Leadership doesn’t change because leaders never die.”
