The world must continue to extract oil and gas to sustain civilization while developing sustainable energy sources, Tesla's founder told a conference in Norway on Monday.
"Realistically, I think we have to use oil and gas in the short term , otherwise civilization will fall apart," Musk said on the sidelines of an energy conference in the southern city of Stavanger.
Asked if Norway should continue drilling for oil and gas, Musk replied: "I think additional exploration is warranted at this time."
"One of the biggest challenges the world has faced is the transition to sustainable energy and a sustainable economy," he said. "That will take a few decades to complete."
He said offshore wind power generation in the North Sea, combined with stationary battery packs, could become a key energy source. "It could provide a strong and sustainable power source in winter," Musk said.
He also raised concerns about birth rates, echoing remarks he made in a Twitter message late last week about the risks of "demographic collapse."
"One of the less obvious things that concerns me is the birth rate and I think it's important that people have enough babies to sustain civilization so that we don't go down," Musk said.
With information from Reuters.
