The Vision and Genius of Elon Musk

Elon Musk had two gigantic dreams for his life when he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania 30 years ago.

He wanted to develop an electric car and he wanted to build a spaceship capable of traveling to Mars.

Elon Musk was one of the founders of PayPal and at a gathering of alums of the company after it had been sold in 2002 (Elon's share was $176 million ) one of the alums asked Elon what he was going to do next.

Musk answered straightaway.

"I'm going to colonize Mars. My mission in life is to make mankind a multi planetary civilization."

Musk came to that mission because he was concerned about the long-term survival and expansion of human consciousness. He wants to make humanity a multi-planetary species as a form of "life insurance" for civilization. 

Musk argues that Earth is vulnerable to catastrophic events—such as asteroid impacts, supervolcanoes, nuclear wars, pandemics, or other unforeseen disasters—that could wipe out all life. 

By creating a self-sustaining colony on Mars, humanity would have a backup, ensuring the "light of consciousness" persists even if Earth becomes uninhabitable. 

His former colleague remembers telling Musk he was "bananas" crazy as Musk sat in a pool cabana reading a tattered manual for a Russian rocket engine

Reid Hoffman, another PayPal veteran who ultimately founded NetFlix, after listening to Elon describe his plan to send rockets to Mars was puzzled, and asked him,

"How is that a business?"

Later Hoffman would realize that Musk didn't think that way.

"What I didn't appreciate is that Elon starts with a mission and later finds a way to backfill in order to make it work financially." That's what makes him a force of nature."

There is no better way to describe Musk than as a "force of nature".

Elon Musk went on to found SpaceX and started building rockets.

Source: https://www.boringcompany.com/projects#vl

That also led to the development of the communication satellites of Starlink which now has more than 9,400 operational satellites in orbit.

He also made Tesla the largest electric vehicle manufacturer in the world.

Across all vehicle models globally, the Tesla Model Y is the third biggest seller in the world.

Tesla Model Y

Musk also developed the autonomous driving technology used in the Tesla based on artificial intelligence rather than radar and sonar like other companies.

Every mile that is driven by Teslas around the world is making the technology better

Tesla also has a significant presence in solar panels.

Tesla has also become a leader in battery storage technology.

Tesla's Optimus division is also developing human-like robots that can do many functions and jobs that humans can do. He is using the same AI concepts for the robots that he did with his vehicles.

Elon Musk also founded The Boring Company that creates safe, fast-to-dig and low cost transportation, utility and freight tunnels.

One of the first projects is a Vegas Loop which will comprise 68 miles of transportation tunnels serving Las Vegas.

Source: https://www.boringcompany.com/projects#vl

I have written about Elon Musk several times in these pages over the years.

The most focused view was a blog post I wrote in December, 2023 after reading Walter Isascsson's biography of Musk.

I would highly recommend this book if you want to learn more about Musk.

I wrote this sentence to begin that blog post in 2023 and I have an even stronger belief in its truth than I did over two years ago.

When the definitive history of the early 21st Century is written I would be surprised if Elon Musk is not considered the most consequential person of this period.

When I wrote that I was thinking about all of the things that Musk was doing that were advancing our world.

Electric vehicles.

A reusable Rocket system capable of returning us to the Moon and, later, to Mars.

The Starlink communications network that could provide voice and internet connectivity anywhere on earth.

Solar power for homes and businesses.

Battery storage that could store the solar energy.

Humanoid robots that could handle all sorts of human functions and tasks.

Tunnel systems.

Each of these alone would advance human society forward enormously.

Collectively they can literally advance the human race beyond earth.

What I failed to realize until recently is that all of the things that Musk is doing have one thing in common.

They are all critical to establishing, maintaining and sustaining a human colony on Mars.

First, you need a rocket with the power and range to travel to Mars.

You need that rocket to be reusable as it will require thousands of trips to ferry the necessary supplies and materials to Mars to build and support a colony.

You need power on Mars-the most likely source of that power is solar.

It will be necessary to harness and store that power. You will need solar panels and battery storage.

Transportation on Mars will be necessary and the most obvious solution is for it to be electric vehicles powered by solar power.

It will be difficult to build roads on the Mars surface and the outside environment is harsh so tunnels might be a better method for transportation between key locations on the planet.

The harsh Mars climate will make it difficult for humans to operate. Robots would be a much better option to use for construction and other tasks at the Mars colony.

Until recently, it had not occurred to me that each of the business ventures and innovations above are all aligned to accomplish Musk's overriding mission in life---to establish a human colony on Mars.

That takes me back to Reid Hoffman's statement about Elon Musk with an even greater appreciation for his vision...and genius.

"What I didn't appreciate is that Elon starts with a mission and later finds a way to backfill in order to make it work financially." That's what makes him a force of nature."

Consider how many criticize Elon Musk for his wealth.

Do they understand that his wealth has only come about about as a consequence of backfilling behind his real mission?

He has become the world's wealthiest man not because he was a greedy capitalist but because he is concerned about the continuity of the human race.

That is the real genius of Elon Musk.

Take all of the above and then consider what Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ("AOC") said about Musk last year.

Source: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5125508-ocasio-cortez-musk-one-of-the-most-unintelligent-billionaires-i-have-ever-met/

Really?

That should tell you everything you need to know about judgment and intellect of the darling of the American Left.

Choose wisely who you follow and trust.