Tesla Inc. CEO and SpaceX co-founder Elon Musk thinks human life has a greater value to it than just thinking about "solving one problem after the other."
What Happened: Speaking at the Milken Institute's 27th Global Conference, Musk dived into his vision of making humanity a space-faring civilization.
The host, Mike Milken, began the conversation with an 11-year-old clip of Musk talking about the three biggest things that would have the biggest impact on the future of humanity.
Musk summarized these as the internet, sustainable energy, and making humanity a space-faring civilization. The tech billionaire is invested in all three areas – Starlink offers satellite-based internet services, the flagship Tesla Inc. offers sustainable energy solutions like solar panels, battery storage, and electric vehicles, while SpaceX is currently focused on landing humans on Mars.
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Beyond this, Musk also talked about two other topics: modifying the human genome, and artificial intelligence (AI.) This was when he was still in college.
Some of these areas, like making humanity a space-faring civilization, have been extensively depicted in science fiction – be it comics, TV shows, or movies.
"At some point, we want to make science fiction not fiction forever. Let's make life multi-planetary and be a space-faring civilization. Be out there among the stars."
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"You have to be excited about the future. Life cannot just be about solving one problem after another," he said, adding that becoming a space-faring civilization is one of those things that should be exciting.
"If you ask kids anywhere around the world, like what is one of the most inspiring things, like a 5-year-old, 6-year-old… they're going to say, space exploration is one of those things."
Musk’s Has Been Dreaming About Space Exploration For A Long-Time Now
Musk has been a big proponent of expanding humanity beyond the Earth for a long time now.
Earlier in April, when Russian Space chief Yuri Borisov touted Roscosmos' Amur rocket's capabilities, Musk accepted the challenge, saying, "Bring it on."
The SpaceX chief has been critical of stagnation on the space exploration front. He wants to build a city on Mars in 20 years and thinks humanity should have a moon base and be among the stars.
"You want to have some sense that the future is going to be better than the past."
Back in December 2023, Musk outlined his ambitious plans for Starship production, emphasizing the importance of reusable rockets in SpaceX's long-term goals.
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Image created using Midjourney and SpaceX photos on Flickr
