On Tuesday SpaceX CEO, Tesla Motors CEO, eccentric billionaire, and IRL comics protagonist Elon Musk gave the presidential forum at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco. In a room of geologists and physicists, he talked about colonizing Mars and the importance of improving science education.
His commanding presence certainly carried the billing—the line to see him was astronomically long.
Naturally, people were excited to see him take the stage.
It’s him. It’s really him! #AGU15 pic.twitter.com/I1JPKmLbxu
— Nsikan Akpan, PhD (@MoNscience) December 15, 2015
Though some were disappointed.
Update: Elon Musk does not enter riding on a Tesla. Crowd is disappointed. #AGU15 @theAGU pic.twitter.com/6hAmnOdR5W
— Kasha Patel (@KashaPatel) December 15, 2015
He talked about a lot of things, perhaps the most interesting and contentious of which was becoming a “multi-planet species,” and colonizing other planets—namely Mars.
Re Mars as a “fixer-upper” planet: We need to “make life multi-planetary while we can” (But it will be super hard to do) — Elon Musk #AGU15
— Dr. Nadia Drake (@nadiamdrake) December 15, 2015
Elon Musk: It’s important that we become a multi-planetary race while we can [before there is an extinction event]. #AGU15
— Dr. Elizabeth DiGangi (@LizDiGangi) December 15, 2015
But not everyone agreed with that sentiment.
Elon Musk #AGU15 “The wise move is to make life multi-planetary while we can.” Wiser move: make life sustainable on this planet while we can
— Jamie Shreeve (@JamieShreeve) December 15, 2015
“We’re ruining Earth” strikes me as a really bad motivator for human interplanetary exploration, Mr. Musk https://t.co/RqBg71CQNN
— Joe Hanson (@DrJoeHanson) December 15, 2015
I mean, has @elonmusk never seen Wall-E?! Doomsday-motivated space exploration only leads to obesity and sad robots
— Joe Hanson (@DrJoeHanson) December 15, 2015
Others were concerned with the possibility of disturbing microbes that may live on the Red Planet.
Q: If we find life on Mars, should we leave it alone?
— Ryan Anderson (@Ryan_B_Anderson) December 15, 2015
Musk: Reality is there prob. isnt life on the surface. Maybe deep underground #AGU15
More concerns aired included producing fuel to get to and from Mars on the planet itself, as well as SpaceX’s challenge to create a reusable rocket.
Haha! Yes; “Rockets are hard.” – Elon Musk #AGU15
— Lisa_Strong (@Lisa_Strong) December 15, 2015
Musk also talked about the importance of science education and enrichment.
https://twitter.com/BethanyAugliere/status/676836411526414336
Elon Musk: We really should be teaching students critical thinking. It’s how you know what to believe. #agu15
— EARTH Magazine (@earthmagazine) December 15, 2015
Musk talking about education and science: it’s quite surprising how little people know about geosciences. #AGU15
— Jeff Foust (@jeff_foust) December 15, 2015
https://twitter.com/BethanyAugliere/status/676836516161708032
He ended on a bit of a dire note: the need to get sustainable energy resources up and running, before it’s too late.
Musk: It is a certainty we will move to a sustainable energy economy. Otherwise economy will collapse after we’ve mined all carbon. #AGU15
— Mark Hilverda (@markhilverda) December 15, 2015
Musk: Will eventually have to switch to sustainable energy. Question is how much CO2 in the atmosphere 1st? Better sooner than later.#AGU15
— Ryan Anderson (@Ryan_B_Anderson) December 15, 2015
And then it was over.
Update: Elon Musk does not exit by leaving on a SpaceX rocket. Crowd is disappointed.
— Kasha Patel (@KashaPatel) December 15, 2015
Bye, @Elonmusk! #AGU15 pic.twitter.com/u1PiwoSmLe
One generous tweeter captured all of Musk’s musings in one convenient comic.
Sketch: Elon Musk musings #AGU15 #muskmusings #sketchnotes #todaysdoodle pic.twitter.com/VPiU4n6v1X
— sarah dewitt (@sldewit) December 15, 2015
We’ll see if he beats NASA to Mars. Until then, we’ll be eagerly anticipating the hyperloop.
Photo via Heisenberg Media/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
