Fact Check: No, Musk Isn't Developing Robots to Carry Human Babies

vblank_digital on TikTok
vblank_digital on TikTok

Claim:

Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk is creating surrogate robots that can fertilize and carry a human fetus for nine months.

Rating:

Rating: False
Rating: False

In October 2024, a claim that Elon Musk and Tesla were developing "a new version of robots that can carry your baby for 9 months while you go about your work" circulated on social media. 

One user responded to the claim by saying, "I don't want [be]cause that baby can turn and say you are not my parents and the law will defend the baby and even sue you to court from bringing him or her to this messy world." Another person simply posted, "So this is evolution……And we will be the dinosaurs."

The claim originated from a Facebook post, which also said, "You and your husband just need to provide your sperm and eggs. The robot will fertilize them and allow the baby to grow inside for 9 months. This could reduce the number of women who d!e [sic] during delivery. Check out the comment section for evidence." 

At the time of this writing, the post was cited as "false information" by Facebook. Likewise, no credible news outlet has reported this claim. Snopes also rates the claim as false.

(The Focus Point Facebook page)

The "evidence" provided in the comments was a video of a female-presenting robot with a human fetus in its transparent womb. This video was also the source of images shared related to this claim in other social media posts, including ThreadsInstagram, and Reddit. Most of the social media posts sharing the claim had also already been flagged as false information. 

The pregnant robot video originated with TikTok account vblank_digital, posted on Oct. 18, 2024, under the title "M0TH3R - The Future of Life?" It had 9.9 million views and over 26,000 comments as of this writing.

A post accompanying the video said: 

Imagine a world where technology and biology are no longer separate. This image of an android with a newborn challenges us to rethink the boundaries between human and machine, between life and creation.

Will artificial beings one day carry the next generation? What does it mean to create life, and could we share that power with technology?

As we advance in AI and robotics, we might face questions that go beyond science — questions about identity, emotions, and the meaning of being alive.

What do you think? Will we ever witness a reality like this?

The TikTok account belongs to Viktoria Blank, whose watermark can be seen on the Facebook post making the claim. Blank's bio on X describes her as "Digital artist harnessing AI to craft visual wonders… Specialized in AI-generated images & videos." 

The TikTok video appeared to have been created using a generative artificial intelligence program, and the AI-generated content detection platform Hive Moderation reported a 99.9% chance that the video was a fake. 

(Hive Moderation)

Further, the claim circulated following a Tesla event on Oct. 10, 2024, which revealed the company's plans for a "robotaxi," "robovan," and the progress being made on the previously revealed "Optimus" robot. 

The entire presentation was streamed live on YouTube and is available for viewing on Tesla's YouTube channel. It contains no mention of surrogate robots during the presentation. 

Snopes reached out to Tesla and Viktoria Blank for comment on this claim and the use of artificial intelligence, respectively, and will update this article when we hear back. 

Snopes has covered many claims surrounding Musk, including that he was once an undocumented immigrant in the United States, that he pledged to donate $5 billion to the Trump campaign at a rally and that photos of him with a robotic girlfriend were authentic.

Sources:

Blank, Viktoria. "M0TH3R - The Future of Life?" TikTok, 18 Oct. 2024, https://www.tiktok.com/@vblank_digital/video/7427220793211342113.

We, Robot | Tesla Cybercab Unveil. 2024, https://www.youtube.com/live/6v6dbxPlsXs