Elon Musk Says 90% of Earth Would Move to Spain: Is He Right?

Elon Musk says 90% of Earth has a financial reason to move to Spain. He made the claim on Thursday, as thousands of people crossed from Morocco into the Spanish city of Ceuta.

It is an argument he has made many times before. Until now, he aimed it at the United States.

What Happened in Ceuta

Ceuta is a small Spanish city on the coast of North Africa. About 85,000 people live there. It sits right on the border with Morocco.

Thousands crossed over on Thursday. Most swam around the Tarajal seawall. At least nine people died.

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Rachid Sbihi runs the union for Ceuta’s border police. He described “absolute chaos” and said the border had “totally collapsed,” according to the Associated Press.

Local leader Juan Jesús Vivas asked Madrid to declare a national emergency and send the army. The Interior Ministry said no. It sent troops and extra police anyway. Spain and Morocco then agreed to speed up returns.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Spain was mobilizing all necessary resources. In January, his government gave legal status to about half a million undocumented workers.

“The Government of Spain is fully committed to providing an immediate response to the situation in Ceuta…working with Moroccan and international authorities, and preparing the necessary measures to restore normalcy as soon as possible… This is the moment to build solutions, with responsibility and cooperation,” wrote Sanchez.

Musk attacked that plan at the time. Sánchez told him “Mars can wait.” The clash fits a pattern in Musk’s European political commentary.

Where the ‘90% of Earth’ Line Comes From

The idea is simple. Musk says a country becomes a magnet when its benefits beat what most of the world lives on. That magnet then grows big enough to break the budget.

He made the same point in April about America. Free taxpayer money can beat the living standards of 90% of Earth, he wrote. That gives 90% of Earth a reason to move there.

A 2024 version used smaller numbers. America holds 4% of the world’s people. A shift of just 1% would crush essential services, he said. For Spain, he put the number at 7 billion.

Spain’s entire budget will be destroyed by illegal migrants. It’s basic math: if Spain offers free stuff to migrants that is above 90% of the living standard of Earth, they create a forcing function for 90% of Earth to move to Spain, which is around 7 billion people!” Musk explained.

Researchers see it differently. They find that jobs, distance, language, and family already living abroad matter more than benefits. That gap is why the line spreads fast, and why it gets attacked just as fast.

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