Elon Musk and Neil deGrasse Tyson have clashed once again with Tyson claiming that the billionaire will not be able to raise funds for his quest to establish a civilization on Mars. Speaking to American talk show host, Bill Maher, Mr. Tyson commented on the feasibility of traveling to Mars, and said that investors would never agree to the idea because there would be no return on investment. For a long time, Mr Musk has said that colonizing Mars is humanity’s only way to survive, while Mr Tyson wants mankind to focus on immediate challenges on Earth rather than expending resources in outer space.
During the interview, Mr Maher asked Mr Tyson how long it would take for the SpaceX boss to “actually send humans to Mars”.
“How badly do we have to fuck the Earth before it becomes worse than a place that is 200 degrees below zero, with no air and no water, which would take six months to reach? ” Questioned Mr. Maher.
To which Mr Tyson, who hosted the TV series Cosmos developed by Carl Sagan, replied: “My reading of the history of space exploration is such that we do big, expensive things only when it makes sense geopolitically. Be expedient, as if we feel threatened by an enemy.”
“And so for him to just say, let’s go to Mars because this is the next thing to do. What does that venture capitalist meeting look like? ‘So, Elon, what do you want to do?’ ‘I want to go to Mars?’ ‘how much will it cost?’ ‘$1 trillion.’ ‘is it safe?’ ‘No, people will probably die.’ ‘What is the return on investment?’ ‘Nothing.’ That’s a five-minute meeting and that doesn’t happen,” he said.
Wow, they really don’t understand this.
Mars is important for the long-term survival of consciousness.
Besides, I’m not going to ask any venture capitalist for money. I realize it doesn’t make any sense as an investment. That’s why I’m gathering resources.
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 23 November 2024
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Kasturi answers
After the video of Mr Tyson’s monologue went viral, the Tesla CEO took to X (formerly Twitter) and issued a response.
“Wow, they really don’t get it. Mars is vital to the long-term survival of consciousness. Also, I’m not going to ask any venture capitalists for money. I realize this doesn’t make any sense as an investment. No. This is why I’m gathering resources,” Mr Musk wrote, adding a ‘forehead slapping in disbelief’ emoji.
In a separate post, Mr Musk said that even if he failed to create a colony on Mars that could grow without Earth’s constant support, “the absurdly ambitious nature of the goal will result in the creation of alien-level technology.” Which is much better than competitors whose goal is only to orbit the Earth”.
Mr Musk’s SpaceX is hoping to use the reusability factor of Starship to build a colony on Mars. In September, the company announced it would launch its first unmanned mission to Mars in the next two years.