Elon Musk, who's fathered 10 children, reportedly donated $10 million to fund a fertility and population research project

Elon Musk with his son, X Æ A-Xii.

Clive Mason - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

• Elon Musk has previously shared his belief that population collapse could end humanity.
• Per a new Bloomberg report, the billionaire donated $10 million to a project researching fertility. 
• The money was given by The Musk Foundation to the University of Texas at Austin in 2021. 

Elon Musk has often spoken about his belief that the world needs to have more babies. A Bloomberg report revealed Monday that he's backed that up with a $10 million donation to a fertility and population research project.

The money was given by The Musk Foundation to the University of Texas at Austin in 2021, but its exact purpose was unclear until Bloomberg's report linked it to the Population Wellbeing Initiative. The PWI is a joint project of the University's Population Research Center and its economics department. Through its research, it looks into fertility, the future of population, and economic growth.

A paper produced by the PWI and co-written by its director includes a projection that, based on declining fertility rates, "humanity is four-fifths over," and without a reversal it's possible "that humanity depopulates with cruelty."

The paper also opens with a quote from Will MacAskill — a prominent espouser of effective altruism, a philosophy that emphasizes focusing on long-term problems and was famously backed by FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

Musk funded a two-day PWI conference last October, but the group didn't disclose the billionaire's involvement to the academics who flew in from across the country, according to Bloomberg.

The 52-year-old billionaire has fathered at least 10 children with three women. His first child with his first wife died in infancy, then they had twins and triplets through IVF. Musk also has two children with Grimes.

A day after Insider reported that Musk had fathered twins with a top executive at his brain-implant company Neuralink, the billionaire tweeted: "Doing my best to help the underpopulation crisis."

"A collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces by far," he added.

Musk and a UT Austin spokesperson did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, sent outside US working hours.

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