He argues that with rapid advances in video games and AI, it’s highly probable we’re living in a computer-generated universe 💻🌌 During a 2016 tech conference, Musk said there’s a “one in billions” chance we’re in base reality! While it sounds like science fiction, this theory is taken seriously by some in physics and computing. Musk says this belief doesn’t bother him—if anything, it motivates him to create meaningful change within the simulation!Dᴇтɑɪʟѕ ɪп ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴇпт 👇👇
Of all the mind-blowing ideas to come from Elon Musk — rockets to Mars, brain-computer interfaces, robotaxis — perhaps the most controversial and mind-bending is this:
Elon Musk genuinely believes there’s a high chance that reality itself is a simulation.
Yes, you read that right. The tech billionaire has publicly stated that it’s highly probable we are not living in “base reality” — but instead inside a hyper-advanced computer simulation, possibly designed by a future civilization with computing power far beyond our own.
🎮 The Gaming Logic Behind Musk’s Belief
At a tech conference in 2016, Musk explained his thinking in terms that gamers and developers alike could understand:
“Forty years ago, we had Pong. Now we have photorealistic, 3D simulations with millions of people playing simultaneously. If you assume any rate of improvement at all, video games will become indistinguishable from reality.”
If that’s true, Musk argues, then it’s only logical to believe advanced civilizations would eventually create “ancestor simulations” — ultra-realistic recreations of their past — and that we may be inside one right now.
🧠 Not Just Sci-Fi — Scientists Are Listening
While it sounds like the plot of The Matrix, the simulation theory is actually taken seriously by many in the fields of physics, computer science, and philosophy.
Renowned thinkers like Nick Bostrom and Neil deGrasse Tyson have acknowledged the logic behind it, with some estimating up to a 50% chance we’re living in a simulated universe.
“It’s not that crazy when you break down the math,” one MIT researcher noted. “What’s wild is that the creator might just be… another version of us.”
🔋 Musk’s Take? It Doesn’t Scare Him — It Drives Him
Interestingly, Elon Musk has said the simulation idea doesn’t bother him. In fact, he finds it motivating.
“Even if it’s a simulation, we should live as if it matters,” Musk once said. “Because what we do here and now could shape what’s possible in any universe — real or simulated.”
That’s part of why Musk pushes for innovation in AI, clean energy, and multi-planetary life. Whether we’re in the “real world” or a high-tech illusion, he believes we have a responsibility to build, improve, and question everything.
💬 Final Thought
Whether you believe it or not, Elon Musk’s simulation theory is more than a sci-fi thought experiment — it’s a challenge to look deeper at what we define as real, meaningful, and worth fighting for.
And if it is a simulation? Well… maybe we should at least make it a beautiful one.
