Title: Elon Musk Urges Italians to "Grow More Italians" at Prime Minister Meeting
During a recent political meeting in Rome, organized by Italian youth's right-wing party Fratelli d'Italia, Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, made an unexpected appearance. Musk, along with his eleven children, visited an ice rink and an old castle to emphasize the importance of population growth.
Italy has one of the lowest birth rates in the world, which was a major topic of discussion at the gathering. Musk advocated for increasing the population to preserve Italian culture, a message that mirrors the stance of the Meloni government.
Meloni, a well-known opponent of surrogacy, which is illegal in Italy, remarkably had not mentioned Musk's most recent child, born through a surrogate mother. The British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, was also present at the meeting.
Meloni, who is a fantasy fan, invited Musk personally to the conference. Named after a character from the 1984 film "The NeverEnding Story," the annual Atréju meeting emphasizes youth and the Italian right-wing.
Notable previous speakers include Steve Bannon, Marine Le Pen, and Viktor Orban. In 2023, apart from Musk, Santiago Abascal from Spain's populist party Vox and the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also addressed the audience. Musk spoke on Sunday, while the interview I conducted took place on Saturday morning.
Hosted in the Engelsburg, a historical site built as a mausoleum for Emperor Hadrian in 135 AD and later converted into a fortress by the Church, the conference took place in a space surrounded by high walls that connect to the Vatican City. Presently, the site serves as a public museum, while construction renovation is happening nearby, giving the area a temporarily construction zone appearance.
During the interview, Musk focused on what he described as "the awakening virus" affecting the United States and warned against its spread to Italy, labeling it as "evil." He discussed the challenges of making investments in countries with low birth rates and spoke passionately about a future as "a multicellular species" and the advantages of legal immigration.
Illegal immigration is one of the biggest issues Italy is currently facing. In 2023, more than 153,000 people have arrived via the sea. Musk pointed out the difficulties of filtering illegal immigrants and asked, "If it's about illegal migration, where do we even know who is coming in?"
Musk also touched upon his recent comments, mentioning that businesses leaving Disney should now focus their attention on Disney. Furthermore, he discussed artificial intelligence as the "greatest turning point since Homo sapiens," indicating that AI would contribute to creating a new species.
While advocating for regulation of AI, he acknowledged the risks it posed and stated that, "AI is a double-edged sword," emphasizing the importance of approaching AI development with caution.
