“Remember my words”. That’s how Elon Musk concluded a warning that sounded like a pronouncement.
It was during an event organized by The Wall Street Journal in December 2021. Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, who was then 50, said civilization would collapse if people didn’t have more children. And he said he practices what he preaches: he is the father of six, from two marriages.
His argument was straightforward: the foundation of the economy is work, and there are serious limitations when there aren’t enough people. “There aren’t enough people. I can’t emphasize this enough”, he said. He also clashed with a widely held idea: “So many people, including very intelligent people, believe there are too many people in the world. It’s exactly the opposite. Please look at the numbers”.
For Musk, low birth rates and the speed at which they continue to fall are among the greatest risks to civilization today. China, for example, recorded around 8,5 births per 1,000 people in 2020.
This is his opinion and prediction, not a proven fact. A billionaire’s exaggeration or a warning no one wants to hear?