Elon Musk warns world is in 'existential crisis' - but people point at huge issue

Billionaire Elon Musk has warned of what he says is an "existential crisis" facing the . In a series of posts on his social media platform, , Musk expressed his deep-seated worries about the impending crisis, which he believes threatens the very foundation of human civilisation.

The 53-year-old Tesla CEO has long been vocal about the need to address the dwindling birthrate, having previously warned that "population collapse is the biggest threat to civilisation" in a post made in 2023.

Musk's concerns were echoed by a repost from an account called DogeDesigner, which suggested that people need to "make more babies" to counter the alarming trend. However, 's attempts to rally support for his cause were met with fierce criticism from users on X, who lambasted the tech mogul for his views.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

Undeterred, Musk, who has 14 children of his own, continued to drive home his point, asserting that every person must get involved in solving the crisis. He posted on April 29: "Population collapse is an existential problem."

This isn't the first time Musk has raised the issue of declining birth rates, having previously highlighted research into the birth rate drop, with scientists describing the collapse in numbers of birth rates in the last five years as .

With his warnings falling on deaf ears, Musk remains resolute in his conviction that the world is sleepwalking into an existential crisis – one that requires urgent attention and collective action to mitigate.

Despite Elon Musk's concerns about falling birth rates, some X users argue that it's his responsibility, given his influential position, to address the issue. The United States is currently doing better than Canada and Japan in this regard, with 1.66 births per woman as of 2022.

Recent CDC reports have confirmed that although birth rates remained stable in 2024, they are still on a downward trend. Economic and social challenges from the Trump era were cited by some as reasons for not starting families, despite their desire to do so.

One individual pointed out: "Money is the issue. I would love to have kids, but cannot afford to."

Another person criticised Musk's advocacy for certain policies, writing: "My dude, then quit pushing for policies that will make people struggle."

Another commenter emphasised the importance of children being born into families that truly want them, adding: "An end that does not justify any means - children need healthy, and happy families."

Some believe the so-called "crisis" is exaggerated, with one user commenting: "Is it truly a crisis? We are nowhere near extinction and are at over 8 billion. Also the birth rate is high in developing countries."

They added: "Perhaps we should focus on how we can support those who are here now. Respectfully there's no real reason why a decline in birth rate is an issue at this point."

However, there are voices that see a genuine population crisis, with one person noting: "Look at human population and replacement rate, we are nowhere near sustainable."

Another person chimed in with a stark warning: "So basically if we just allow industrial civilization to collapse we will go extinct. There's no coming back. We have to figure out why the population is crashing and fix it. It will not fix itself."