Elon Musk warns humanity will end in 'adult diapers' if birth rate keeps falling

Tesla CEO and future owner of Twitter Elon Musk again expressed his concerns over the aging population due to low birth rates in advanced economies.

Musk took aim at climate activists who argue that having fewer kids is better for the environment, saying the idea was “total nonsense” at the All-In Summit on Monday.

"We're currently headed towards a population decline. And that's everywhere in the world,” Musk said via video call.

"Some people think that having fewer kids is better for the environment. It's total nonsense. The environment is going to be fine, the environment is going to be fine even if we doubled the size of the humans,” he added, but did not provide evidence.

Musk reasoned the falling population would lead to a dark future where only the elderly would remain in “adult diapers.”

"At least maintain our numbers," he said.

"We don't necessarily need to grow dramatically, but least let's not gradually dwindle away until civilization ends with all of us in adult diapers, in a whimper."

The tech mogul has repeatedly raised concerns about the existential threat of the rapidly declining global birthrate, which has been declining since 1960.

“So many people, including smart people, think that there are too many people in the world and think that the population is growing out of control,” Musk told The Wall Street Journal’s annual CEO Council last year.

“It's completely the opposite. Please look at the numbers — if people don't have more children, civilization is going to crumble, mark my words.”

The world’s richest man also caused a stir after tweeting last week that Japan would “eventually cease to exist” if its birth rate – among the lowest among developed countries – did not improve.

Analysts have noted that people are increasingly deciding against having children over fears they will amplify climate change.

Some of the most famous people advocating this position are in the British royal family.

In a 2019 interview, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, publicly committed to two children for environmental reasons.

Prince Phillip has also been a lifelong campaigner for the environment. He once joked, “In the event that I am reincarnated, I would like to return as a deadly virus, to contribute something to solving overpopulation.”