Elon Musk the notorious CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, said he believes there is a 70% chance of him getting to Mars in one of his spacecrafts, The Independent reported Monday.
The 47-year-old tech entrepreneur said he believes the journey to the Red Planet may become possible within the next seven years — while also admitting that there is a 'high chance of death' on the way there.
"I know exactly what to do," Musk said on the ‘Axios on HBO' program. "I'm talking about moving there".
Today, the US pays $81 million per seat in Russian Soyuz spacecraft — the only option of getting humans into space at the moment.
However, Musk, who pledged to be deadly serious, said that travelling to Mars would become an escape option for the super-rich of the Earth. According to the businessman, "the probability of dying on Mars is much higher than Earth".
"It's going to be hard. There's a good chance of death, going in a little through deep space," he said.
According to his vision, the chosen few who would actually venture to the Red Planet, will have to immediately get busy and work non-stop to build the first-ever Mars base.
"So, you know, not much time for leisure. And even after doing all this, it's a very harsh environment. So… there's a good chance you die there," he said. "We think you can come back but we're not sure. Now, does that sound like an escape hatch for rich people?"
According to NASA, the review — which would also cover Boeing, another company interested in commercial space flights — is intended to make sure that both companies are "meeting NASA's requirements for workplace safety, including the adherence to a drug-free environment".
Earlier in September, Musk reached a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to step down as Tesla's chairman after he fired off a tweet suggesting he was planning to take the company private. Musk paid a $20 million fine as part of the settlement.
