Elon Musk said at an Italian political festival that Europeans will lose their culture if they don’t start having more children, GB News reports.
Speaking at an event organised by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the Social Network X owner said the only way to reverse the population decline threatening the economies of many countries was to have more babies.
Musk said the “virus of the waking mind” was sweeping the US and warned it was moving into Europe, calling it “evil”.
He said immigration would not be a solution to the demographic problem facing many countries, including Italy, France and Japan. Musk noted:
We are in danger of no longer having these countries. My advice to all government leaders and people is: make sure you have children to create a new generation.
Musk said he strongly supported legal immigration but called for increased background checks on migrants, saying:
Let’s increase legal immigration, but we must end illegal immigration.
Several measures in support of families with children are included in the 2024 budget bill. Illegal immigration is one of Italy’s main political problems, with more than 153,000 people arriving by sea this year. Moreover, Italy has one of the lowest birth rates in the world. Musk asked to wild applause from the crowd:
If it’s illegal immigration and there is no filter, how do you know who is coming in?
Musk said he believed Italy was an “incredible country” and a “good place to invest.” However, he added that “investing companies are asking themselves: will there be enough people working there?” The tech billionaire also spoke about the advertisers who have left X since its takeover in October 2022. He noted:
I think X will do well, and we’re already seeing advertisers coming back to X. Advertisers always worry about their brand… But I think it’s a short-term problem.
