Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and Trump’s DOGE cost-cutter-in-chief, dubbed Social Security “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time” on Joe Rogan’s podcast. Slamming the U.S. retirement system as a pyramid scam, he warned it’s teetering on collapse as fewer workers fund longer-living retirees.

“Social Security’s a fraud propped up by new money, not smart investing,” Musk told Rogan in his first post-election appearance. With a $22 trillion unfunded liability, he argued it’s doomed without drastic fixes—especially as baby boomers flood retirement by 2030 and Trump’s immigration crackdown shrinks the workforce.

The “pay-as-you-go” setup—where workers’ 6.2% payroll tax (capped at $176,100, matched by employers) funds pensions—relies on a growing population that no longer exists. “It’s bad now, but it’ll be way worse soon,” Musk said. The Social Security Administration didn’t respond to Fortune.

A political storm is brewing. Progressives like Rep. John Larson, top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Social Security subcommittee, see Musk’s attack as a plot to slash the program, vowing fierce resistance. Others push to ditch the tax cap, forcing billionaires like Musk—who’d pay it off in days—to prop up the system longer.

Musk’s fix? Slash fraud, like unreported deaths milking benefits. But he’s wary of blowback. “If I push too hard on corruption, they’ll kill me,” he said, citing his Trump alliance and the president’s two assassination scares. He even tied his fate to the December killing of UnitedHealthcare’s Brian Thompson, whose vigilante slayer some hail as a folk hero. “They’re framing me as a target,” Musk warned.