Elon Musk concurred with Bojan Tunguz‘s statement that the United States should aim for a population of one billion. This exchange happened on social media, garnering significant attention with over 20 million views as of March 25, 2024. Tunguz, known for his roles at Nvidia, achievements in Kaggle, and academic background from Stanford, tweeted, “There should be one billion Americans.” Musk simply responded with “Yes,” endorsing the idea.
Bojan Tunguz‘s profile describes him as a Machine Learning expert at Nvidia, Kaggle Quadruple Grandmaster, Data Scientist, Physicist, Catholic, Husband, Father, and a Stanford Alum. His post aligned with Musk‘s previously expressed concerns about a global population collapse, which Musk views as a grave risk to civilization. He advocates for increasing birth rates to mitigate the effects of aging populations. In the U.S., birth rates have been declining, with around 3.7 million babies born in 2021, indicating a slight increase from 2020 but still less than in 2019. Musk has frequently emphasized that he perceives population decline as a more critical threat than global warming.
The response on social media to Musk‘s agreement was varied and lively. FatDon (@FatDon420) commented positively, emphasizing growth through reproduction rather than immigration. Stephen Harrington (@sth_emc2) proposed that the U.S. could support a population of 4 billion, pointing out the vast uninhabited spaces across the country. Hovhannes Mkhitaryan (@hovinthenorth) echoed the sentiment of potential prosperity for a billion Americans, citing the availability of land and the need for collective willpower. Conversely, Meowrider (@gatoparlante) criticized the idea, arguing that America struggles with handling even thousands of immigrants, and highlighted that overpopulation concerns are not merely about physical space.
There should be one billion Americans. pic.twitter.com/tjsUOW6zHg
— Bojan Tunguz (@tunguz) March 24, 2024
The discussion reflects a broader conversation on population dynamics, sustainability, and the vision for America’s future, sparked by the simple exchange between Musk and Tunguz.