Tech billionaire Elon Musk has warned at an event organised by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni that Europeans need to start having children again or risk unique European cultures disappearing.
Speaking told Atreju 2023 in Rome that the continent must combat what he termed the “woke mind virus”. The Space X owner also warned that illegal migration is a critical threat to Europe.
Musk encouraged Italians and residents of other developed nations to start families, warning that the unique cultures of countries like Italy, Japan, and France could vanish if people decide to not have children.
He declared: “We are in danger of no longer having these countries.”
Musk said he strongly supported legal immigration but called for increased scrutiny of immigrants’ backgrounds, saying: “Let’s increase legal immigration, but we must end illegal immigration.”
Meloni has made reversing Italy’s population decline a priority of her government, and the 2024 budget bill, which is currently being debated in parliament, includes some measures aimed at assisting families with children.
In response to questions about advertisers withdrawing from the X platform following Musk’s takeover in October 2022, described the situation as a short-term problem.
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.”
He argued that some of those who left X may have been influenced by what he referred to as the “woke” virus.
Prime Minister Meloni later posted on X: “Elon musk ‘s participation in Atreju was also an opportunity to discuss together the benefits and risks of artificial intelligence and the new perspectives linked to Starlink, the SpaceX satellite system.
