Elon Musk refuses to join a space flight to colonise Mars until he’s older for fears there is a “non-trivial chance of dying.” The Tesla billionaire, 51, says he wants to see the two-year-old son, X, who he shares with singer Grimes, 34, grow up before he takes off.
“Especially if I’m getting old, I’ll do it. Why not?” he told the Financial Times on Friday, October 7 when asked if he would like to join the pioneering colony to Mars he is championing.
But when asked if he would be useful to his fellow colonists due to his age, dad-of-10 Elon – who referred to himself in the interview as an “autumn chicken” – admitted, “I think there is some non-trivial chance of dying, so I’d prefer to take that chance when I’m a bit older, and see my kids grow up. Rather than right now, where little X is only two-and-a-half. I think he’d miss me.”
SpaceX founder Elon – worth £209 billion – has said he wants to transport one million people to Mars by 2050 as he fears the future of humanity is at stake. He added to the Financial Times about his worries over the planet’s eventual doom, “Something will happen to Earth eventually, it’s just a question of time.”
“Eventually the sun will expand and destroy all life on Earth, so we do need to move at some point, or at least be a multi-planet species. You have to ask the question, ‘Do we want to be a space-flying civilisation and a multi-planet species or not?’ “
He added he believes Earth should devote “1%” of its resources to working on colonising other planets as he thinks it’s a “reasonable amount.”
In June, the billionaire said declining birth rates present “the biggest danger civilisation faces by far.” He told the Financial Times some of his friends have suggested he should have 500 children to help boost the population, but admitted it would be a “bit weird.”
Elon also said there are “no other babies looming” he hasn’t admitted to fathering.
Another company he founded, Neuralink, is designing chips that will be implanted in the brain to restore sensory and motor function to help elongate life. But Elon said he believes it is “important that people die.” He added, “How long would you have liked Stalin to live?”
