Topline
Musk shared his hopes of dying on Mars, rehashed his futuristic vision for humanity, and joked about political tensions over U.S interest in Greenland and Venezuela during his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos Thursday Morning, a surprise appearance that came after years of publicly disparaging the conference.
CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, South African-Canadian-US businessman Elon Musk speaks during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 22, 2026. The World Economic Forum takes place in Davos from January 19 to January 23, 2026. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP via Getty Images)
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Key Facts
“I’ve been asked a few times, do you want to die on Mars?” Musk shared during his conversation with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, “And I’m like, yes, but just not on impact,” he added, garnering laughs from the crowd.
Musk opened the talk by joking, “I heard about the formation of the peace summit, and I was like, ‘Is that P-I-E-C?’ … A little piece of Greenland, a little piece of Venezuela…all we want is a piece.”
Fink focused on Musk’s space and AI-related ventures, leading Musk to reiterate his vision for building advanced humanoid robots, which he said “everyone on earth” is going to have
When asked if he had any last words to share, Musk said, “I would encourage everyone to be optimistic and excited about the future.”
Musk’s inclusion in the Davos speaker roster was a last-minute surprise that came a day after President Trump’s speech.
Crucial Quote
“There’s so many myths around Elon Musk,” said Fink towards the end of the conversation, publicly defending him, “He’s a great friend…and I’m totally inspired by what he has done.” Shortly before, Fink told the crowd he wanted to “humanize” Musk, garnering loud laughs.
Big Number
850 of the world’s top CEOs and 400 top political leaders, including close to 65 heads of state and six G7 leaders, are attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, according to the organization. Musk joins a long list of notable speakers which, in recent days, has included President Donald Trump, President Macron of France, and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang.
Key Background
Musk has been critical of the World Economic Forum for years. In 2023, he responded to a video of the event’s opening ceremony posted to Twitter with “How is WEF/Davos even a thing?” adding, “Are they trying to be the boss of Earth!?” He went on to compare the summit to message board 4chan, which is known for being a platform for extremist points of view, joking, “There should be a game show: “4Chan or Davos, who said it?” The year prior, Musk publicly announced that he had declined an invitation to attend the conference, calling it “boring af.” One reason for his past distaste for the yearly summit could be its viewpoint on overpopulation, which the World Economic Forum’s official X account has called “a global challenge.” Musk, who has 14 children and is an advocate for boosting world population, responded to that post with, “Population collapse is an existential problem for humanity, not overpopulation!” This year, he has yet to post about Davos to his X profile.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/martinadilicosa/2026/01/22/musk-makes-surprise-appearance-at-davos—heres-what-he-said-about-greenland-and-venezuela/
