Elon Musk Says 99% of Our Economy Should Be Dedicated To Solving Problems On Earth & 1% Applied To Extending Life Beyond Earth

Featured Image Source: @RealLifeStarman & @mrkalopsia via Twitter 

SpaceX founder Elon Musk envisions a future where humans can extend life beyond Earth and sees Mars as a potential second home for our species. His aerospace company has worked for over a decade to accomplish launching crewed missions to space. In 2020 SpaceX returned human spaceflight capabilities to the United States when it launched NASA astronauts to the International Space Station. To date, the company has launched a total of three crewed flights for the agency. SpaceX is now ready to conduct its fourth crewed flight that will launch the first all-civilian space tour, known as Inspiration4, on September 15. Read More: Netflix Releases First Episodes Of Inspiration4 Documentary, SpaceX Is 'GO' For Launch Of All-Civilian Crew

Musk has faced a lot of criticism from people who do not understand why his company is working to enable humans to explore space and make life multiplanetary. During a scene of the Netflix documentary series ‘Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission To Space’, an interviewer asked Musk what would he say to those people who think that ‘we have enough problems on Earth, why are we spending time, energy, and money getting off of Earth?’ –“I think we should spend the vast majority of our resources solving problems on Earth…” Musk said in response, “Like 99% percent plus of our economy should be dedicated to solving problems on Earth, but maybe something like 1%, or less than 1%, could be applied to extending life beyond Earth. Think about a future where we’re a space-faring civilization and a multi-planet species, that's an exciting, inspiring future. If life is just about problems, I mean, why… what’s the point of living?” Musk said (video below). 

"We should dedicate 99% of our economy solving problems on Earth, but maybe something like less than 1% could be applied to extending life beyond Earth. A future where we're a space-faring civilization, that's an exciting & inspiring future" — @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/4E1klqVIiB

— Pranay Pathole (@PPathole) September 6, 2021

Throughout his career, Musk has told reporters on multiple occasions that humans cannot remain confined to Earth forever. “The future of humanity is fundamentally going to bifurcate along one of two directions: Either we’re going to become a multiplanet species and a spacefaring civilization, or we’re going be stuck on one planet until some eventual extinction event,” Musk told National Geographic in 2016, “For me to be excited and inspired about the future, it’s got to be the first option. It’s got to be: We’re going to be a spacefaring civilization.”

Musk chose to be the 1% to invest his wealth in helping humanity explore space. “I am accumulating resources to help make life multiplanetary & extend the light of consciousness to the stars,” he stated earlier this year in March. SpaceX operates around-the-clock to develop the Starship spacecraft that could enable hundreds of humans to travel to Mars, if they choose to be the pioneers to build a second home for our species on the Red Planet. Musk believes that SpaceX will need to manufacture a fleet of at least one thousand Starship vehicles that will enable humans to build a permanent base on the Moon and a sustainable colony on Mars to protect our specie's future. “Starship is key to preserve the light of consciousness,” he says.

Featured Image Source: @RealLifeStarman & @mrkalopsia via Twitter