Tesla and SpaceX boss Elon Musk was recently interviewed by Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath, where he discussed a range of topics including investing, the nature of money, and how AI might impact US debt. He also, for once, mentioned which public companies he’s optimistic about.

How do you determine whether a company is worth investing in? Musk’s answer was pretty straightforward.

He said that short-term stock price movements are basically impossible to predict, but long-term investing actually follows certain patterns. The core comes down to two questions: Do you like what the company is currently selling? Do you believe in the new products it plans to launch over the next few years? If a company is already making good products and it’s clear that it will continue to deliver quality offerings, then it’s essentially a solid candidate for long-term holding.

Another key point is the team. Musk believes that if you think the people running the company are talented, hardworking, performing well now, and seem highly motivated, then the company is “most likely a good investment.” As for daily stock price fluctuations, he thinks there’s no need to care too much—after all, a company is just a group of people coming together to make products and provide services, and over the long run, the stock price will definitely reflect that reality.

But his most explosive idea came later.

When talking about the long-term future of civilization, Musk reiterated a disruptive idea he’s mentioned before: in the long run, “the concept of money might gradually disappear.” In his imagination… (original text not finished)