“Don’t go to medical school!” – Elon Musk predicts AI robots will make human surgeons ‘pointless’ within three years, and the chinny reckon is visible from space
Elon Musk, the man hailed as a genius by his devoted fans – which includes Liz Truss, Andrew Tate, and himself – has an appalling record of making grandiose tech predictions that simply crash and burn …almost literally.
Elon Musk’s core skill isn’t engineering, but being a hype machine that drives the stock of the companies he runs.
– 2011: man on Mars in 10 years
– 2017: 2nd-gen Tesla Roadster, “production soon”
– 1M robotaxis by 2020, still none
– Since 2016: full self-driving “next year”
-… pic.twitter.com/OvB73TwLi5— Vatnik Soup (@P_Kallioniemi) December 28, 2025
While speaking to Peter Diamandis on the tech-focused Moonshots podcast, Musk made another of those famous predictions, and it has all the hallmarks of being yet another future embarrassment for the richest man in the world.
He told the host that Tesla’s Optimus AI robot is going to make surgeons obsolete – and in double-quick time.
Elon Musk's jaw-dropping prediction (Jan 2026):
“Don’t go into medical school.”
Elon Musk: “Yes. Pointless.”In 3 years (2029), Optimus robots will be better surgeons than any human on Earth — at scale.
By 4–5 years? Not even close. The best medicine in the world will be free… pic.twitter.com/q7KTMpICk8— Camus (@newstart_2024) January 10, 2026
What could possibly go wrong with people giving up learning stuff? Seems fine to hand over responsibility for our health to robots that come from the same creator as the cars that burst into flames for no reason.
Scepticism entered the chat – not least at the man who charges people to have the option of switching off ads on social media might be pushing for free medical treatment for all.
Let’s take a look.
1.
My honest take is that you must be dumb as a bag of shit dust to post time-based predictions from Elon Musk.
— Brad (@b05crypto) January 11, 2026
2.
Cult frontman selling AI dystopia. https://t.co/1jqPrA7RmA
— David Icke (@davidicke) January 11, 2026
3.
It is absolutely fascinating that a man can regularly make utterly bonkers, childish predictions with zero chance of happening, and some component of the internet will nod sagely and think he’s a brilliant luminary. https://t.co/poLxTghAII
— Adam Gaffney (@awgaffney) January 11, 2026
4.
Here is Musk’s extreme AI optimism (in this case 3-5 years on replacement of ALL surgeons). Why might he be wrong?
Reliability. Cost. Insurance. Unions. Public Trust. The many non-scalpel roles of surgeons, Similar issues in almost all human domains with AI. https://t.co/AgW0myjlGb— Rory Stewart (@RoryStewartUK) January 11, 2026
5.
AI surgeons in 3 years? I’ll believe it when my robot doc doesn’t glitch mid-stitch
— Carlos Lebron (@carlosml) January 10, 2026
6.
none of his predictions have ever come true so I wouldn't use this to decide whether or not to go to medical school https://t.co/Vms9erMw8I
— Nathan J Robinson (@NathanJRobinson) January 11, 2026
7.
It's all self-driving autonomous car bullshit all over again. Currently humans use robotics for surgeries & in 3 years they will still do & this air blowing moron will put "under human supervision" self driving baloney on their robots, which is anyway being done right now. https://t.co/2ExdtH8ioU
— Ashwini K Pandey (@ashwinikpn) January 11, 2026
8.
Imagine Musks future…
Humans no longer learn anything about medicine & healthcare. Its all done by AINow imagine that future hit by an X-class solar flare. Electronics disabled, data wiped, lost forever
Do u want a world where humans have given up learning how to stay alive? https://t.co/vaqJ7wONQs
— duncan (@mongrelcelt) January 11, 2026
9.
He’s wrong about so many things https://t.co/TYSo4KBtow
— richard bacon (@richardpbacon) January 11, 2026
10.
Literally every prediction he's ever made has been wrong.
Every. Single. One.
— finity (@Bitcoinfinity) January 11, 2026