“I really resent him now”: Olivia Wilde recalls meeting Elon Musk “before he turned into this creature”

Olivia Wilde, who is forty-two years old, has recently made headlines after her appearance on The Louis Theroux Podcast, where she opened up about her past encounter with Elon Musk. The Don't Worry Darling director revealed she once toured SpaceX's Los Angeles headquarters and met the billionaire businessman long before, in her words, he

"turned into this creature."

"I really resent him now. I really deeply resent him," Wilde said.

The actress shared that her initial encounter with Musk came about through a Haiti-based organization she was involved with, which focused on building hospitals and schools. Elon Musk had expressed interest in donating to the cause. As per Wilde, he did contribute a small amount, which she acknowledged. That being said, she admitted she never saw his current trajectory coming.

"He did seem really smart," she added.

One of Wilde's key objections to Elon Musk centres on what she sees as his promotion of the idea that men hold more power than nature itself. The In Time star also took issue with statements she attributes to Musk, regarding his views that the world is underpopulated and could sustain another billion people.

"I was confused by him. I would never have predicted he would go down the path he has gone down," she shared.

Elon Musk's fourteen children and his outspoken views on the world's population crisis:

As per a report shared by People, Elon Musk has welcomed fourteen children in this world. The Tesla CEO first had six children with his ex-wife Justine Wilson. Among them was son Nevada Alexander, who tragically passed away at ten weeks old.

More than two decades later, Musk went on to welcome three children with singer Grimes, whom he dated for several years. He also shares four children with Shivon Zilis, an executive at his Neuralink company. Most recently, Musk welcomed a son with author Ashley St. Clair. The billionaire allegedly offered St. Clair a one-time payment of fifteen million dollars, as well as one hundred thousand dollars a month in support, to keep quiet about their child.

Over the years, Musk has made several comments praising what he calls his contribution to addressing what he describes as an "underpopulation crisis." In July 2022, he wrote on X,

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

Elon Musk on fatherhood and his push for people to have larger families:

During an October 2022 interview with the Financial Times, Elon Musk opened up about what it was like to be a father of ten at the time, and referred to himself as an

"autumn chicken."

Musk, who was fifty-one years old during the interview, said he was

"pretty sure there are no other babies looming,"

That being said, he shared that he remained open to welcoming more children in the future, as long as he could be a good father to them.

His views on fatherhood have never existed in isolation from his wider beliefs about birth rates. During the Wall Street Journal's annual CEO Council in December 2021, Musk claimed there are "not enough people" in the world, and expressed concern for the future of civilization if people did not have large families.

"I think one of the biggest risks to civilization is the low birth rate and the rapidly declining birthrate. Please look at the numbers — if people don't have more children, civilization is going to crumble, mark my words," he said.

That was not the only time he publicly encouraged people to have more children. In July 2022, he took to X, writing,

"I hope you have big families and congrats to those who already do!"

Mark Cuban's text exchange with Musk and the billionaire's unapologetic approach to public controversy:

During a July 2022 episode of the Full Send podcast, billionaire Mark Cuban reflected on a conversation he once had with Musk, recalling a time he congratulated the SpaceX founder on the birth of another child.

"I know Elon a tiny bit. He's a different dude," Cuban said, sharing that after offering his congratulations, he asked Musk how many children he planned to have. As per Cuban, Musk's response was brief and characteristically playful.

"I'm like, 'Dude, congratulations, how many are you going to have?' He sends me a text back, 'Mars needs people.'"

Elon Musk's willingness to say exactly what he thinks, regardless of the consequences, has long been a defining trait. In May 2023, when asked by CNBC whether his outspoken comments and social media posts concerned him because they could cost him customers or advertisers, Musk was direct.

"I'll say what I want to say and if the consequence is losing money, so be it," he said.

That was not a one-off sentiment. Later that same year, during The New York Times DealBook Summit, he doubled down.

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"I have no problem being hated, by the way. Hate away."

As per a report shared by Benzinga, for Elon Musk, speaking candidly has always mattered more than avoiding controversy, even when it brings financial or reputational consequences.

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