SPCX CEO Elon Musk Backs Cathie Wood’s Bullish AI Call: Real GDP Growth Could Blow Past 7%-8%

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) CEO Elon Musk appeared to endorse ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood’s view that artificial intelligence could drive long-term real GDP growth past the 7%-8% range, reinforcing their shared expectation of an AI-led productivity boom. Wood Sees AI Supercharging Economic Growth Wood, in an X post on Wednesday, amplified ARK analyst Daniel Maguire, who wrote that "AI Is The Most Powerful Joule In History," arguing economic activity converts energy into GDP. He argued that AI could make the economy increasingly efficient at converting energy into economic output. Wood said the analysis points to growth beyond the 7%-8% annual rate the investment firm expects over the next five years. Likely— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 24, 2026 Musk replied to the post, stating, "Likely." ARK’s investor letter goes further, saying 7% growth could prove conservative as AI, robotics, energy storage and other technologies converge. The firm says productivity will be the main driver. Its Big Ideas 2026 work also argues that AI investment is accelerating power-capacity buildouts while economies become more energy efficient. Read Also: Cathie Wood Trims Alphabet Even as Google Regains Search Share, Ark Bets Big on This Space Stock ARK Forecast Far Outpaces Fed Outlook The forecast sits far above mainstream projections. Federal Reserve officials’ September median estimates put real GDP growth at 2.3% in 2026, 2.4% in 2027 and 2.2% in 2028. The Bureau of Economic Analysis said second-quarter 2026 real GDP grew at a 1.5% annualized rate. Musk And Wood Keep Finding Common Ground Musk and Wood have repeatedly converged on AI’s economic impact. In August, Musk said "the AI riptide is already underway," while Wood said rising inference volumes could push real GDP growth "toward double-digit territory" as ARK argued collapsing inference costs were speeding adoption. Wood also backed Musk’s vision of AI-enabled one-person businesses, writing that "AI is likely to create an entrepreneurial explosion" after Musk promoted creating an "instant one-person company" with Grok. She called disappearing entry-level corporate roles a potential "blessing in disguise" for graduates willing to build companies with AI. Their optimism extends beyond AI software. This month, Wood estimated that Starship could eventually generate $1 billion per launch and $10 trillion annually if SpaceX reached 10,000 flights a year. Musk replied, "It’s not impossible." ARK cautions that its forecasts are inherently uncertain. But Wood’s latest post and Musk’s endorsement show both remain far more bullish than official economic projections on how quickly AI could reshape productivity and growth. Read Also: Elon Musk Says AI Could ‘Beat All Fields’ By 2028, Far Faster Than François Chollet’s 10-20 Year Forecast Photo courtesy: Shutterstock