He may or may not buy MSNBC, but Elon Musk isn't taking any criticism from Neil de Grasse Tyson about his Mars ambitions.
The entrepreneur responded today to deGrasse Tyson's pointed comments in Friday's Bill Maher issue of “Overtime” about the feasibility of a trip to Mars.
The two have long been at war over the Mars issue. Musk views the colonization of Mars as necessary for humanity's survival, while Tyson sees it as secondary to solving Earth's immediate challenges. It's an argument that has raged among scientists and culture observers since the dawn of space exploration in the last century.
In this latest argument about Mars, Maher asked deGrasse Tyson how long it would take for Musk to “realistically send people to Mars.” Maher played on the long-standing position of deGrasse Tyson, who has urged that we focus on improving the Earth.
“How bad would we have to screw up the Earth before it becomes worse than a place where it's 200 degrees below zero, with no air and no water, and six months to get to it?!” Maher asked. Tyson shouted, “Preach it! Preach it”
“I have strong opinions about that,” deGrasse Tyson said. “My reading of the history of space exploration is such that we only do big, expensive things when it is geopolitically expedient, for example when we feel threatened by an enemy. And so he just wants to say, let's go to Mars, because that's the next thing we need 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.”
“At some point someone has to pay for it and being interested in something is not the same as paying for it.”
Musk responded to X on Saturday, metaphorically slapping his forehead in disbelief.
“Wow, they really don't get it. Mars is critical to the long-term survival of consciousness. I'm not going to ask venture capitalists for money either. I realize that it makes no sense as an investment. That's why I'm gathering resources.”
Musk then fell into a darker mood and questioned DeGrasse Tyson's motives for his comments.
“The real problem is that Neil decided to crawl to the far left when he was hit with a #MeToo. You can avoid getting canceled if you beg for forgiveness and push through their bullshit ideology. The truth hurts.”
The billionaire then advocated for a Mars venture.
“Even if we fail to create a Martian colony that can grow without continued support from Earth, the absurdly ambitious nature of the goal nevertheless results in the creation of alien-level technology that is overwhelmingly better than competitors who merely strive an orbit around the earth.”
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