Elon Musk's bankruptcy warnings collide with JPMorgan's first Bitcoin forecast

Elon Musk has a new item on his worry list. The Tesla and SpaceX chief, described by Forbes as the world's first trillionaire, has paired his long-running warnings about financial collapse with fresh fears about an artificial intelligence-driven nightmare.

His latest message is a warning of "global bankruptcy." Forbes suggests it could become a game-changer for the Bitcoin price, and it lands just as JPMorgan rolls out a Bitcoin forecast that Forbes called "extraordinary."

During a February 2026 appearance on the Dwarkesh Podcast, he put his confidence level well past the usual scale.

"We are 1000% going to go bankrupt as a country and fail as a country without AI and robots."

Musk's view is that the US cannot outgrow its debt with today's economy. Only a big jump in productivity from AI and robotics would let the country cover what it owes. Without that jump, he argues, the bill eventually wins.

US national debt passed $40 trillion in late 2026, according to the research findings. Interest payments on that debt are reported to exceed military spending.

This is where Musk's two fears meet. He frames AI as both a possible threat and the only realistic escape hatch from the debt spiral.

JPMorgan Asset Management included Bitcoin in its Long-Term Capital Market Assumptions report for the first time in October 2026. That annual report is where the firm lays out its expected returns for major asset classes over the coming decade.