Elon Musk has his 'legion.' How will Republicans encourage other Americans to have babies?
The pronatalist movement finds itself in power


Elon Musk says the world needs more babies, and he is doing his level best to help the cause. The world's richest man has fathered at least 14 children with four women. Pronatalist Republicans increasingly see him as a champion for their cause.
"Multiple sources" say it is likely the "true number of Musk's children is much higher than publicly known," said The Wall Street Journal. He reportedly refers to all those children as his "legion" and says they are "relevant to his ambition for NASA" to send humans to Mars. That effort, Musk has said, is "critical to ensuring the long-term survival of humanity and all life as we know it." And "helping seed the earth with more human beings of high intelligence" is part of that mission, said the Journal.
That makes Musk the "country's most famous pronatalist," said The New York Times. With President Donald Trump in the White House and Musk at his side, the pronatalist movement has "never had so much political power in America." Family-minded GOP officials are contemplating offering a $5,000 "baby bonus" for new children and creating public education efforts about "menstrual cycles and fertility windows." Musk's prominence in the Trump administration is "enormously encouraging to those who want their cause to hit the mainstream."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What did the commentators say?
There is a difference "between being pro-natalist and being pro-family," said Elizabeth Bruenig at The Atlantic. The pronatalist movement breaks down along "tech versus trad, future versus past, reproduction versus family" lines. Conservative Christian "trads" have long "animated" the GOP, but tech people like Musk have "more resources and power to market their ideology." Musk's own values, meanwhile, appear to be "detached from the usual ties of familial love" that trads embrace. One thing that is clear is that most of the billionaire's fans "won't be able to replicate the scale of his bloodline empire."
"Pronatalists focus on the numbers game," said Haley Strack at the National Review. That is why one of the proposals now contemplated by the Trump administration includes giving a "National Medal of Motherhood" to women who have given birth to six or more children. If the president wants Americans to have more children, his administration would be better off thinking about how to "address the indirect costs of parenthood, and how to create a baby-friendly culture." He should also take recommendations from pro-family advocates "for whom children are not just numbers."
What next?
The U.S. National Center for Health Statistics reported that the "number of births in 2023 fell to the lowest level in over 40 years," said Newsweek. "Low birth rates will end civilization," Musk said in a post on X.
Cuts driven by Musk's Department of Government Efficiency have "slashed" a number of existing fertility and maternal health programs, said The Washington Post. Maternal health experts said the cuts "will have an enduring effect on women and children." They worry that other resources, including a maternal health phone line operated by the federal government, may also soon be shuttered. "We truly can't overstate the risk for families," said Wendy Davis, the CEO of Postpartum Support International.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Joel Mathis is a writer with 30 years of newspaper and online journalism experience. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic and The Kansas City Star. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.
-
5 museum-grade cartoons about Trump's Smithsonian purge
Cartoons Artists take on institutional rebranding, exhibit interpretation, and more
-
Settling the West Bank: a death knell for a Palestine state?
In the Spotlight The reality on the ground is that the annexation of the West Bank is all but a done deal
-
Sudoku medium: August 23, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Feds seek harsh charges in DC arrests, except for rifles
Speed Read The DOJ said 465 arrests had been made in D.C. since Trump federalized law enforcement there two weeks ago
-
Inflation derailed Biden. Is Trump next?
Today's Big Question 'Financial anxiety' rises among voters
-
The red state push to join the DC occupation
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Republican governors are increasingly eager to volunteer their state's National Guard troops for Trump's ostensibly anti-crime siege of the nation's capital
-
Why has the State Department scaled down its stance on human rights?
Today's Big Question The Trump administration has curtailed previous criticisms of human rights violations
-
Why do Dana White and Donald Trump keep pushing for a White House UFC match?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The president and the sports mogul each have their own reasons for wanting a White House spectacle
-
What's a pocket rescission and can Trump use one?
The Explainer The White House may try to use an obscure and prohibited trick to halt more spending
-
Why is Trump attacking Intel's CEO?
Today's Big Question Concerns about Lip-Bu Tan's Chinese connections
-
Tesla's $29 billion Musk-centric gamble
IN THE SPOTLIGHT With sales slumping and its reputation battered, the EV automaker is betting big that its future depends on keeping mercurial CEO Elon Musk happy — and wealthy