On September 12, it was reported that Musk once again issued a warning about the United States' spiraling $37 trillion debt: "Ultimately, our ridiculously high national debt... interest payments have already surpassed the Department of Defense budget and continue to grow. If AI and robots can't solve the national debt problem, we're finished," he said during an interview at the AllIn Summit. This year, the total U.S. debt has surged to $37 trillion, and the dual pressures of massive pandemic-era spending and rising interest rates may trigger a "crisis" for the U.S. dollar.