Elon Musk reacts to post claiming India's birth rate falls below replacement level, says: ‘Among those most educated ...'

Elon Musk has reacted to a viral post on X (formerly Twitter) that claimed India's fertility rate has fallen below the replacement level for the first time in the country's history. The post, shared by the account America First (AF), has received nearly 13 million views on the platform. It stated that India's total fertility rate (TFR) had declined from 2.3 to 1.9 over the past decade and added that Delhi's fertility rate now stands at 1.2, lower than that of Finland. Musk, who has repeatedly warned about declining birth rates in several countries, responded to the post by highlighting the trend in India.


“India’s birth rate has fallen below replacement. Among those most educated, India’s birth rate fell below replacement many years ago,” the Tesla CEO wrote.

X post highlights fertility rate decline

The America First post said:


"India’s fertility rate has fallen below replacement for the first time in the country’s history, declining from a TFR of 2.3 to 1.9 in just a decade. Delhi’s fertility rate now sits at 1.2, lower than Finland’s."


For those unaware, the replacement fertility rate is generally considered to be about 2.1 children per woman, a level at which a population can replace itself from one generation to the next without migration.


Elon Musk has frequently commented on population trends and declining birth rates around the world. In recent years, he has described falling birth rates as a major challenge facing many countries, including Japan.


“Most people still think the world is overpopulated,” Musk said in earlier interviews. “It’s actually the opposite.”

When Tesla CEO Elon Musk said AI will increase the birth rate

Elon Musk made a bold prediction in 2025 when he shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) stating that artificial intelligence (AI) will increase the birth rate. “AI is obviously gonna one-shot the human limbic system,” he then wrote in the post, adding “That said, I predict – counter-intuitively – that it will *increase* the birth rate! Mark my words.” “Also, we’re gonna program it that way,” the tech billionaire wrote.