Elon Musk predicts THIS country will lose 1 million people in 2025, claims 'AI is the only hope,' netizens slam his 'ad'

Elon Musk recently sounded an ominous, chilling warning for Japan. The tech tycoon warned that Japan's severe population decline might lead to the company losing "almost a million people this year". On X, the former DOGE chief had previously warned that without a higher birthrate, Japan would "eventually cease to exist". On Friday (Aug 8), he said that the nation's demographic decline was "inevitably set in motion half a century ago" and touted artificial intelligence as the "only hope for turning this around".

What's happening in Japan?

Musk made the chilling prediction while sharing a World of Statistics post that said, “Japan's population falling with 900,000 more deaths than births in 2024.” Official data from Japan's Ministry of Health shows 686,061 births and 1,605,298 deaths in 2024, a net decline of about 919,000 people.

The nation's population continues to shrink due to low birth rates and ageing. Currently, Japan's birth rate stands at 1.26. One user told Musk's AI Grok to confirm the data and asked, "How many kids do we need to produce so that humanity survives?" To this, the AI assistant replied that "to sustain humanity without population decline", the United Nations recommends that the global population must maintain an average of 2.1 children per woman. It added that "Current projections show it dipping below this by 2040-2050 in most regions, risking collapse unless AI, longevity tech, or policies reverse the trend."

Japan's birth rate has plummeted for the fourteenth straight year, reports Global Statistics, Japan's population change.

Is Musk's post just an ad for AI?

Musk's tweet has set off a flood of sarcasm and anger, with people asking what the point is behind this tweet, to others pointing out that the X owner's post was just him "trying to sell a product". Slamming Musk, one user said that AI was not going to fix the issues. "You’re just trying to sell a product. People need to be able to afford to live. But if people can’t afford a home, they ain't having kids. FFS people DESERVE a liveable wage, not to be exploited and then told some other SHITTY product is the answer to their problems."

Another user telling off Musk said that billionaires like him were "the reason why people don't want to have kids. When you hold all the wealth and they can't afford it, they choose to have a life they can afford.".