Elon Musk Says Almost Anyone Can Afford a R1.5 Million Ticket to Mars, Mzansi Says He’s Oblivious to Reality
- SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has said that he believes almost anyone can afford a ticket to Mars, estimated at $100,000 (roughly R1.5 million)
- The billionaire’s American aerospace manufacturer plans to build a self-sustaining city on the red planet in the coming decades
- Many South Africans shared their views and opinions on Musk’s predictions, with many saying he was oblivious to the poverty faced by many individuals
PAY ATTENTION: Follow Briefly News on Twitter and never miss the hottest topics! Find us at @brieflyza!
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk had South Africans and, quite frankly, many people worldwide, gobsmacked at his opinion on the affordability of a space ticket to Mars.
According to the billionaire entrepreneur, a $100,000 (roughly R1.5 million) theoretical price point for a ticket on his shuttles to Mars should be affordable for most people.
Source: Getty Images
SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp) is an American aerospace manufacturer, a provider of space transportation services, and a communications corporation headquartered in Hawthorne, California. Reports indicate that the company SpaceX plans to build a self-sustaining city on the red planet in the coming decades.
During a recent interview with the head of TED conferences, Chris Anderson, Musk was asked about the price of a journey.
PAY ATTENTION: Never miss breaking news – join Briefly News' Telegram channel!
According to Business Insider South Africa, Musk said the price point would be determined partly by economics but also a need to make Mars travel affordable enough to attract around a million of the kinds of people needed to build a city on Mars.
"If moving to Mars costs, for argument's sake, $100,000, then I think almost anyone can work and save up and eventually have $100,000 and be able to go to Mars if they want. We want to make it available to anyone who wants to go," Musk said.
JOE reported that Musk described various ways people could raise funds, such as selling homes, being sponsored by the government or even taking out a loan.
Mzansi has their say
South Africans did not hesitate to share their views and opinions on Musk’s predictions, with many saying he was oblivious to the “making ends meet reality” faced by many individuals.
Timothee Makanishe said:
“If he thinks 'almost everyone' can afford R1.5 million, then he is already living on Mars, not on Earth.”
Wayne Mandla Ngwenya replied:
“I don't have taxi fare to Sandton as we speak.”
Cyle Ferreira reacted:
“No wonder everything is getting expensive... The scale these people are getting paid is enormous. And the scale of the way these rich people are thinking is not the average person...Why would we have to go to Mars if you could help the individuals or empower the communities? Elon Musk is so rich, he wants to own another planet.”
Celia Dickens commented:
“When you only rub shoulders with the wealthy, you forget there are people with far less.”
Elon Musk acquires a large portion of Twitter shares,
In a separate story, Briefly News reported that Twitter shares skyrocketed after Elon Musk announced that he purchased a big portion of the company.
He is the company's most significant stakeholder. This comes after he criticised the social media platform and suggested that he would create his own in the industry.
The billionaire has acquired 9.2%, worth about $2.89 billion in shares in Twitter.
Source: Briefly News
