Musk: Drones and artificial intelligence will dominate future wars, US to increase investment

On February 8th, Elon Musk, the world's richest man, stated in a recent video that drones and artificial intelligence (AI) will dominate future wars.

Musk gave a speech at West Point Military Academy in August last year, during which he had a fireplace conversation with Shane Reeves, the director of the academic committee at West Point and a US Army Brigadier General. Musk posted this video on the social media platform X on Thursday local time.

The current war in Ukraine is largely a drone war, "Musk said in the Fireside Dialogue. If a great power war breaks out, it will largely be a drone war

Musk calls on the United States to increase investment in drones and enhance local production capacity.

As a close ally of current US President Trump, Musk plays an important role in the US government, leading Trump's newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) aimed at reducing federal government spending and streamlining bureaucracy. The DOGE team has entered multiple federal agencies to review data systems, expenses, and contracts.

Musk claims that he often listens to audiobooks on military history before falling asleep and warns world leaders not to be complacent.

Countries usually prepare for war according to the pattern of the previous war, rather than preparing for the next war, "he said to the military personnel present.

SpaceX, a space exploration technology company under Musk, is a key component of the US military industrial system. In addition to launching rockets for partners such as NASA, its satellite system Starlink currently covers over 100 countries and regions.

Musk also shared his so-called 'first principles algorithm', which is also a core philosophy of his management of six companies: the first step is to reduce 'stupid' demand, the second step is to delete unnecessary parts or processes, the third step is optimization, and the fourth step is' acceleration push '.

In addition to SpaceX, Musk also owns electric car company Tesla, AI research company xAI, social media platform X, brain computer interface company Neuralink, and underground tunneling company The Boring Company.

The problem of military procurement often goes wrong from the beginning, due to excess demand, "Musk said.

Musk has previously stated multiple times that the United States should consider adopting remotely controlled unmanned aerial vehicles, both in response to the rise of drone warfare and to help the Air Force maintain competitiveness in procurement.