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Elon Musk has offered his own assessment of what will 'end civilization' in a new six-word warning on social media, detailing what he believes will bring about the swift conclusion of the human race.
Threats of nuclear war, another global pandemic, devastating natural disasters, climate change, and even the rise of artificial intelligence are all things that many people have speculated will bring an end to humanity, but Elon Musk certainly seems to have other ideas.
You even have the seemingly real life threat of city-destroying asteroids crashing into our planet, yet a six-word warning from the richest man in the world appears to have it all figured out.
Offering a prophecy of his own to his 219 million followers on X, Musk boldly claimed that "low birth rates will end civilization."
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Musk's warning came following a tweet that all 50 states across America have experienced a fertility decline, with new lows recorded nationwide.
The overall rate has reportedly dropped to an all time low of 54.5 births per 1,000 women, which is just over half of the 112.9 per 1,000 recorded in 1959.
It's clear that Musk has taken these concerns to heart too, as he's made it his priority to have as many of his own children as possible.
Even his father has claimed that women would be 'mad' to say no to having a child with the tech mogul.
In response to worried concerning falling birth rates, Musk even began offering people his sperm, and he has also reportedly taken to direct messages on X, offering 'to impregnate' influencers he's never met in person.
Musk has built a 'legion' of 14 children from four mothers that we know of, with the most recent arriving earlier this year from Neuralink director Shivon Zilis, who currently resides in a purpose-built private compound owned by Musk in Austin, Texas.
It also appears as if it's not simply the birthing of children that's the issue for Musk, but their intelligence too. MAGA influencer Ashley St. Clair, who gave birth to Musk's 13th child in secret last year, recently revealed that the billionaire requested her to have a C-section, claiming the baby's brain would be restricted through a traditional delivery.
Outside of Musk's own mating habits though, many have began to question why birth rates are falling - especially if his claims that it will 'end civilisation' are true.
"What is causing this?" asks one popular reply to Musk's post on X, and it currently has a multitude of other users weighing in with their own theories.
One user outlines that there are 'two reasons' behind the drop, with the first being that people 'can't afford them', and the second being that they simply 'don't want them' - and sometimes its a combination of the two.
"No one can afford to have children," writes another user. "They can't buy a home, live month-to-month, some have been looking for work for a year, and having a child you can't afford to feed, when you're struggling to feed yourself, is child abuse."
With America's economy teetering on the edge of a recession thanks to instability caused by President Trump's tariff plan, it's only likely that things will get worse and more people will feel unable to have children.
Furthermore, with the rise of AI, experts have indicated that this will only further widen the wealth gap between the richest and poorest, and with only three jobs set to survive advancements in the tech, you can't blame people for feeling anxious about a future they'd potentially be bringing a child into.
