Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk welcomed another child into his family, marking his third with Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis.
What Happened: Zilis, who serves as Neuralink’s director of special projects, and Musk, had their third child earlier this year, reported Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. The couple had twins in 2021.
Musk has been outspoken about his concerns over declining birth rates. In 2022, he said, “collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces, by far.”
According to the report, the tech mogul has now fathered at least 12 children, with six from his previous relationships and three with musical artist, Claire Elise Boucher, better known as Grimes.
This news comes amidst reports of Musk’s “boundary-blurring relationships” with female employees at SpaceX. Last week, it was reported that Musk’s actions have fostered a culture of sexism and harassment within the company. SpaceX’s president and COO Gwynne Shotwell stated that the report by WSJ does not accurately reflect SpaceX’s culture.
“The untruths, mischaracterizations, and revisionist history in your [The Wall Street Journal] mail paint a completely misleading narrative,” she said. “I continue to be amazed by what this extraordinary group of people are achieving every day even amidst all the forces acting against us. And Elon is one of the best humans I know.”
Why It Matters: Despite the global population exceeding eight billion last year, Musk insists that the growth rate is slowing. He has urged people to have more children and said to be doing his part “to help the underpopulation crisis.”
He has previously warned people of a population crisis in the U.S., citing Japan as a leading indicator of the consequences of a falling birth rate. Earlier this year, he expanded his concerns to all nations “above a certain per capita income,” describing the situation as “demographic suicide.”
In May, he said that “America is headed towards extinction” and urged people to “have more children” to combat “population collapse.” As per the report, Musk is correct that the overall growth rate slowing. Currently, the average person lives in a place where more people are dying than being born.
However, increased immigration is more than compensating for these localized population declines in countries such as the U.S. and Canada. This trend is expected to continue for largely benign reasons, according to Jennifer Sciubba, a demographer and author of “8 Billion and Counting: How S*x, Death, and Migration Shape Our World,” the report noted.
While birth rates have recently begun to decline in countries like India and Thailand, it is generally the wealthier countries with the most educated women and the highest costs of raising children that are experiencing the most significant drops in birth rates.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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