'Celebrate having kids': Elon Musk warns Americans of population collapse

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

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Billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk once again sounded the alarm on America’s declining birthrate on Tuesday, stating that one of the solutions to resolve the impending population collapse is to “celebrate having kids.” 

Musk, who has eight children, has previously warned about an impending population collapse, but his latest remarks focused on the United States. Posting on Twitter, Musk stated that the country’s birthrate has remained at  “below minimum sustainable levels” for at least half a century. 

Definitely

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 24, 2022

“USA birth rate has been below min sustainable levels for ~50 years,” Musk wrote, citing a graph produced by the Wall Street Journal to show that the U.S. total fertility rate in 2021 remained below the “replacement” level of 2.1. 

As detailed by Statista in 2017, “the birth rate in the United States was highest in families that had under 10,000 U.S. dollars in income per year, at 66.44 births per 1,000 women. As the income scale increases, the birth rate decreases, with families making 200,000 U.S. dollars or more per year having the lowest birth rate, at 43.92 births per 1,000 women.” 

Musk pointed out that the vast majority of wealthy people do not have children of their own, pointing to himself as an exception to the rule. 

“Contrary to what many think, the richer someone is, the fewer kids they have,” continued Musk. “I am a rare exception. Most people I know have zero or one kid.” 

During his tweeting session, Musk replied to GOP congressional candidate Robby Starbuck, who suggested to him that “America needs a culture shift that celebrates the nuclear family & having kids.” 

“We just need to celebrate having kids,” said Musk, whose remarks come days after he attacked the claim that having more children contributes to climate change. 

"Population collapse is the biggest threat to civilization," Musk tweeted later in the afternoon. "South Korea and Hong Kong are experiencing the fastest population collapse. Note, 2.1 kids per woman is replacement rate."

Population collapse is the biggest threat to civilization https://t.co/ZrHN5DsrVB

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 24, 2022

“Some people think that having fewer kids is better for the environment,” said Musk during the All-In Summit last Friday. “That’s total nonsense.” 

“The environment’s gonna be fine even if we doubled the population. And I know about environmental stuff. We can’t have civilization just dwindle into nothing,” he said. 

Musk took aim at that the idea that it is wrong to bring children into the world in the 21st century is a nonsensical argument, pointing out that the past was much worse. 

“I have heard many times. ‘How can I bring a child into this terrible world?’ I’m like, ‘have you read history?'” he said. “Because let me tell you, it was way worse back then.'” 

Musk’s remarks were shared on social media. 

WATCH: 

"Some people think that having fewer kids is better for the environment. Environment's gonna be fine even if we doubled the population. Japan had lowest birth rate. Having kids is essential for maintaining civilization. We can't let civilization dwindle into nothing." — @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/i03zytLDTJ

— Pranay Pathole (@PPathole) May 20, 2022

As detailed by Rebel News, Musk has previously sounded the alarm on population collapse, calling it the “biggest threat to human civilization.”