Tech billionaire Elon Musk has warned Australians could soon be an 'endangered species' after the nation's birth rate dropped to an all-time low.
Musk, who has 14 children by four different women and a net worth of over $800billion retweeted a post announcing that Australia's birth rate had fallen to a record low of 1.48 children per woman.
A birth rate of 2.1 is required for a population to sustain itself.
'Australians are becoming an endangered species', Musk wrote on X.
But Aussies were quick to respond to Musk's X post, claiming they simply couldn't afford to have more than two children.
'Complain about low birth rates while getting richer and being one of the reasons those birth rates are low is diabolical!' one person hit back.
'One reason Australia's birth rate keeps falling is because young adults are facing a mix of financial pressure, high housing costs, and expensive childcare, all of which make starting a family feel harder than it used to,' a second argued.
Musk (pictured with one of his sons) has 14 children by four different women
Musk's X post (pictured) generated plenty of comments from Aussies
Australia's total fertility rate has been declining for decades
'We are deliberately being replaced by the third world. The government has made it unaffordable and unsafe to raise children in Australia,' a third said.
'The rich can afford to have children, the poor can afford to have children through welfare, the middle class can't afford to have children because we pay for the poor,' a fourth commented.
'We can't afford children or houses. The economy is terrible and taxed to death. I've run a small business for ten years and since Covid I've seen the working class lose their disposable income. How will it ever improve?' a fifth agreed.
Many Aussies heaped the blame in the Albanese government's immigration policies for upping the cost of living which, in turn, is affecting their ability to raise a family.
'Replacement mass immigration is accelerating this. Almost no-one can afford a home,' one person commented.
Musk has been warning about the declining birth rate for years, not just in Australia but across Western countries.
The billionaire and other concerned experts fear society will be left with 'more grandparents than grandchildren' and face a myriad of challenges, including not enough young people to work, pay tax and look after the ageing population.
In 2017, the Tesla CEO warned the number of people on Earth was 'accelerating towards collapse but few seem to notice or care'.
Australia's birth rate has dropped to a record low of 1.48 children per woman
In 2021, Musk warned that civilisation is 'going to crumble' if people don't procreate, and said Japan could 'flat-out disappear' if a population downturn continued.
He similarly warned Italy 'will have no people' if its low birth rate continued.
Now he's saying the same about Australia, where soaring living and property costs are hampering many residents' desire to have large families.
Housing, grocery and childcare prices were already steep, but the war in the Middle East has driven costs even higher, fuel being the most notable example.
The birth rate in South Korea is now just 0.7 births per woman, while Japan has a famously low rate of around 1.3.
One local government in Kochi, Japan, has even resorted to paying people to date. They are offering up to $125 to residents aged 20–39 to use certified dating apps.
Some nations have even taken to paying new parents for having children in a bid to increase the birth rate. Sparsely populated regions in Finland dish out 10,000 euros (£8,500) to couples over 10 years per child.