'Greatest risk to civilisation': Elon Musk warns of population collapse, again

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who believes that humans need to procreate more to take life to Mars, has said again that population collapse is potentially the greatest risk to the future of civilisation.

Musk, who is among the richest persons on the planet, shared his concerns, citing The Wall Street Journal report 'US population growth, an economic driver, grinds to a halt'.

On July 14, Musk, the father of seven kids and would like to have a daughter in the future, tweeted his opinion criticising the rising global population and said, "I’m trying to set a good example! Population collapse is a much bigger problem than people realise and that’s just for Earth."

"Mars has a great need for people, seeing as population is currently zero. Humans are the custodians of other life on Earth. Let us bring life to Mars!" he added.

Musk's this comment came in response to a tweet by ‘Tesla Owners of the East Bay’, which was accompanied by a photo of him with his son, that said, "Population collapse could be upon us, but we appreciate that you good sir are still making tangible efforts to stave it off."

Musk, in an interview, revealed he wants to send humans to Mars in this decade and is confident that a crewed mission could take place in 2026. Musk listed several limitations - establishing Mars as a self-sustaining civilisation and technological advances - that could hamper the timeline.

However, many scientists and activists have criticised Musk’s plans and his approach. In addition to this, a report published in The Lancet in 2020, suggested the threat of population collapse is quite real and must not be dismissed. In the report, the University of Washington's Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation stated the worldwide fertility rate would see a serious decline between 2050 to 2100s.

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