Elon Musk has encouraged Europeans to have more children or risk losing their cultures, he said at an Italian political festival.
Speaking at the event organised by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the tech billionaire said that the only way to reverse the population declines which are threatening the economies of many countries, is to produce more children.
Musk also focused on the “woke mind virus” he claims is gripping the US, and cautioned that it is moving to Europe, calling it “evil”.
He warned that immigration cannot solve the demographic problem that many countries, including Italy, France and Japan, are having.
Elon Musk blasts 'woke mind-virus' as he issues plea to Europeans to have more childrenMusk declared: “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,” he said.
The X owner said he strongly supported legal immigration but called for heightened checks of migrants’ backgrounds, saying: “Let's increase legal immigration, but we must end illegal immigration."
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The company was co-founded by Elon MuskGettyThe 2024 budget bill contains several measures in support of families with children.
Irregular immigration is one of the biggest political issues in Italy, with more than 153,000 people arriving in the country via sea so far this year.
Italy also has one of the lowest birth rates in the world.
“If it’s illegal immigration and there is no filter, how do you know who is coming in?” Musk asked to wild applause from the crowd.
Migrants have fled in their thousands to the Italian island of LampedusaReutersMusk praised Italy, calling it “an incredible country” and “a good place to invest” but added that “companies investing ask themselves: will there be enough people working?”
He said: “I think X will do well, and we're already seeing advertisers coming back to X.”
Musk added: “Advertisers always worry about their brand... But I think it's a short-term problem," also suggesting some of those who left X were infected with a so-called “woke” virus.