Elon Musk Warns China On 'Population Collapse:' Each Generation Will Lose 40% Of People

Tesla, Inc. TSLA CEO Elon Musk has yet again expressed his concerns over population collapse. This time around, his concern was directed toward China, a country that is central to Tesla's growth thesis.

What Happened: Musk was commenting on a BBC article that delved into China potentially moving toward contraction in population for the first time since 1959-61, when the great famine struck. Quote tweeting the article, Musk highlighted some key points made in the article that included China having the lowest birthrate on record in 2021 despite having a three-child policy. He chimed in with a premonitory warning. "At current birth rates, China will lose about 40% of people every generation," Musk said.

Most people still think China has a one-child policy.

China had its lowest birthdate ever last year, despite having a three-child policy!

At current birth rates, China will lose ~40% of people every generation!

Population collapse.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 6, 2022

The BBC story noted that the fertility rate, or otherwise births per woman, has tapered off to 1.15 in 2021, well below the 2.1 needed to replace deaths. In 2016, China rolled back its one-child policy that was put in place to check population growth and then went on to introduce a three-child policy in 2021.

Related Link: Why This Analyst Thinks Tesla's June Quarter Deliveries Will Be Better Than Feared

Why It's Important: Musk has on multiple instances warned of an imminent population collapse. In May, he warned that if the population decline in Japan isn't stemmed, the country will soon cease to exist.

Delving on the uneven distribution of population, Musk said in another tweet in May that humans are occupying only a tiny percentage of the Earth's surface and that's why people in cities think the Earth is full of people when in reality it is "basically empty."

He has also warned of South Korea's population plummeting to 6% of the current level in three generations, citing the fastest population collapse found in the country and Hong Kong. At the start of the year, he lamented that if there aren't enough people to live on Earth, there wouldn't be enough people to inhabit Mars, a planet he is striving to populate with humans.

Photo: Courtesy of Nvidia Corp. via Flickr