Musk Says Real Battle Between 'Humanists and Extinctionists,' Not the Political Right and Left

Published: 10/8/2023, 5:42:24 PM EDT

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has pointed out that the current societal divide is more ideological than political.

Mr. Musk wrote on his social media platform, X, on Oct. 6, in which he said that the real battle was between "humanists and extinctionists."

"The real fight is not between right and left, but rather between humanists and extinctionists," Musk wrote in the post.

Mr. Musk's post drew multiple comments, including from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who likened Mr. Musk's "extinctionists" to today's radical left.

“Today's Left embraces anti-human policies like the Green New Deal, uncontrolled crime, sterilizing children, unlimited abortion & destroying the nuclear family," Mr. Cruz wrote.

Another comment read: “Oddly, the ones wanting to eliminate others don't want to be eliminated themselves," to which Musk replied that “if someone is keen to have fewer humans on Earth, they should start with themselves.”

Mr. Musk also responded to a comment by another person, who stated that "The anti-human & anti-natalist agenda is woven into the discourse of nearly every top political issue."

“Almost no extinctionists think of themselves this way explicitly—usually they shrouded themselves in moral superiority,” Mr. Musk wrote.

“But some do, like this guy who wants to genocide humanity, Musk added. The comment was in reference to Les Knight, who spearheaded the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement (VHEMT), which advocates humanity to go extinct by voluntarily ceasing procreating.

Mr. Musk, who has eleven children of his own, has repeatedly stated that the world does not have an overpopulation issue, but rather an issue of underpopulation. He has also voiced strong support for procreation.

"Having children is saving the world," he wrote in a post on X last month.

Mr. Musk posted in July last year that he was doing his best to help the underpopulation crisis.

“A collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces by far,” he wrote.

“Population collapse due to low birth rates is a much bigger risk to civilization than global warming," he wrote on the platform in August last year.

The post was shortly followed by another, in which he added: "And I do think global warming is a major risk."

Mr. Musk's statements subsequently drew backlash from multiple media outlets, as well as the United Nations, who criticized him for contriving the issue while simultaneously downplaying global warming.

According to a 2021 article from The Wall Street Journal, more people died than were born in half of all states throughout 2020.

It goes on to say that estimates indicate the lowest population growth ever documented as of July 1, 2020, while population growth was forecast to remain flat, amid pandemic concerns and economic uncertainty.