Elon Musk: One Day Mars Could Save Earth Like America Saved the World Last Century

Elon Musk: Mars may one day come back and save Earth, just like America saved Europe three times last century.

“There is an important threshold if we are able to make life multiplanetary, that you can get to the point on Mars where Mars can grow by itself, even if the resupply ships from Earth stop coming.

That's the critical threshold where the probable lifespan of civilization is dramatically greater. It's not enough just to go to Mars and have a small base or something like that.

You've got to actually have enough resources on Mars that if resupply ships stop coming for any reason, and it could be that things on Earth ended with a bang or a whimper, and currently it's trending to end, it's sort of tragic, currently things are trending to end with a whimper in adult diapers because of the lack of birth rate, but as soon as we can make life multiplanetary, sustainably multiplanetary, the probable lifespan of civilization is dramatically greater.

And I think that's really the fundamental test, can we get to that point before civilization collapses? Can we make life multiplanetary, sustainably multiplanetary before something happens on Earth to prevent that from occurring?

And if we do, the future is exciting and bright, and Mars may one day come back and save Earth, just like America came back and saved Europe and saved the rest of the world three times last century.

Three times, America saved the world last century. What a disaster it would have been if America had not existed. And one day, Mars may play that same role on Earth.”

Town Hall in Philadelphia, October 17, 2024