Elon Musk has been vocal over population decline, especially in countries like South Korea. In a recent post, the Tesla CEO highlighted a historical trend where prosperous civilisations, like the Romans around 50 BC, experience population declines due to low birth rates , a pattern he sees repeating today. He claimed that Roman Empire's failure to reverse this trend.
Musk response came in a reply to a post which claimed that the 3 things that is driving the change the cost-benefit of kids are:
Kids no longer earn — some stay in school til they’re 30.
Kids cost a lot because of inflation and college.
Government pensions mean don't need kids when you’re old.
Musk says population collapse due to ‘hedonism’
Musk attributed the population collapse to human tendencies toward hedonism and envy, which override the desire to have children during times of wealth.
“Throughout history, periods of extended prosperity for civilizations have always led to population declines,” Musk said.
“Counterintuitively, it is when civilizations are richest that they have fewer children, as most people cannot cognitively override the limbic attraction of hedonism and envy, the latter being particularly pernicious,” he added.
He noted that the the Roman Empire's failure to reverse this trend despite extensive debate serves as a cautionary tale for modern societies facing similar demographic challenges.
“Low birth rates were a big deal for the Romans as early as ~50BC, for example. They debated endlessly about how to solve the problem and they failed,” he added.
In the past, Musk has cautioned about declining populations in several Asian countries, including South Korea, Japan and Singapore.
“Singapore will go extinct in some time,” Musk wrote while expressing concern for South Korea and Japan.
In a post, Musk quoted a graph originally posted by the Tesla Owners Silicon Valley account. The post, captioned "Population collapse is humanity's greatest threat... Elon Musk," received a confirming "Yes" from the Tesal CEO.
Musk response came in a reply to a post which claimed that the 3 things that is driving the change the cost-benefit of kids are:
Kids no longer earn — some stay in school til they’re 30.
Kids cost a lot because of inflation and college.
Government pensions mean don't need kids when you’re old.
From the free newsletter: “World Population is Collapsing”
— Peter St Onge, Ph.D. (@profstonge) April 4, 2025
https://t.co/9la6HIqcER
What’s driving it is 3 things that changed the cost-benefit of kids:
Kids no longer earn — some stay in school til they’re 30.
Kids cost a lot because of inflation and college.
Government… pic.twitter.com/6RemYFRy5J
Musk says population collapse due to ‘hedonism’
Musk attributed the population collapse to human tendencies toward hedonism and envy, which override the desire to have children during times of wealth.
“Throughout history, periods of extended prosperity for civilizations have always led to population declines,” Musk said.
“Counterintuitively, it is when civilizations are richest that they have fewer children, as most people cannot cognitively override the limbic attraction of hedonism and envy, the latter being particularly pernicious,” he added.
Throughout history, periods of extended prosperity for civilizations have always led to population declines.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 7, 2025
Counterintuitively, it is when civilizations are richest that they have fewer children, as most people cannot cognitively override the limbic attraction of hedonism and…
He noted that the the Roman Empire's failure to reverse this trend despite extensive debate serves as a cautionary tale for modern societies facing similar demographic challenges.
“Low birth rates were a big deal for the Romans as early as ~50BC, for example. They debated endlessly about how to solve the problem and they failed,” he added.
In the past, Musk has cautioned about declining populations in several Asian countries, including South Korea, Japan and Singapore.
“Singapore will go extinct in some time,” Musk wrote while expressing concern for South Korea and Japan.
In a post, Musk quoted a graph originally posted by the Tesla Owners Silicon Valley account. The post, captioned "Population collapse is humanity's greatest threat... Elon Musk," received a confirming "Yes" from the Tesal CEO.
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