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Benzinga
Benzinga
Business
Jeannine Mancini

Elon Musk Says 'Birth Rates Drop As Countries Get Wealthier' — The Economy Isn't Why U.S. Birth Rates Decline, 'Poorer’ Countries Have More Kids

Elon Musk Birth Rate United States SpaceX Tesla Inc. X Jeff Bezos Miso Robotics Gold Home Prices
Birth Rates Hit New Lows

If soaring home prices were the whole story behind America’s falling birth rate, the solution might be as simple as building more houses. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says history suggests it’s not that simple.

After a post on X in 2024 argued that "Americans not having kids is easily explained, no one can afford to live," citing average U.S. home prices climbing from $68,700 in 1980 to $479,500 in 2022, Musk pushed back. "False, birth rate drops as countries get wealthier. Has happened throughout history. Looks at birth rates WW. The poorer the country, the higher the birth rate," Musk wrote on X, linking to a Wikipedia list of countries by total fertility rate.

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