To say that Elon Musk sees the world differently to many people is an understatement. The South Africa-born entrepreneur is one of the 21st century’s most influential people, and the significant footprint he’s left on the world of tech already is undisputed.
But despite everything he’s already achieved, Musk isn’t one to rest on his laurels. And in the coming years, he’s got even bigger plans for the world (and beyond).
So, what are Elon Musk’s most ambitious ideas for the future? We’re going to take a look at five of his most exciting plans in this article.
Life on Mars
At the time of writing in 2021, no person from Earth has ever stepped foot on Mars. However, Musk plans on changing that—and he plans on doing so pretty soon too.
In 2020, Musk spoke at a webcast in the German capital Berlin. As reported by CNBC, he said at the time he was “highly confident” that people would land on the planet “about six years from now.”
The SpaceX CEO also said that if things go well enough, we could start seeing people on Mars by 2024.
SpaceX has already begun developing a rocket to transport humans to the planet, which we only recently got around to exploring with machines.
Humans have speculated about whether we could live on Mars for decades. Whether or not it’s feasible, however, is another question.
While the day/night cycle is similar to Earth (24 hours and 37 minutes), the terrain is likely too harsh to live outside of specially designed pods. It’s also worth remembering that nighttime temperatures on Mars can drop below -60ºC, which is the average annual temperature for parts of Antarctica.
If you want to read more about humankind’s chances of living away from Earth, we wrote a full article outlining the technologies that might make living on Mars possible.
Tunnel Vision
Driving to work is a cause of stress for the lives of many people in the US each day. The same is true for Musk, who got so fed up he tweeted about it in December 2016.
Of course, it’s essential to take what you see on Twitter with a pinch of salt. Not this time, though; Musk founded The Boring Company (TBC) on the same day and got to work trying to fix American cities’ notorious traffic jam problems.
Since then, TBC has undertaken numerous projects for fast-speed tunnels. For example, the Las Vegas Convention Center Loop tunnel is open to the public as long as they’re attending a show at this venue.
Musk’s tunnel in Vegas cost over $40 million to complete. TBC has also completed projects in California, though these aren’t open to the public at the time of writing in August 2021.
In the future, TBC also aims to have another tunnel in Las Vegas—though this one will focus on the city’s main airport and areas of entertainment.
Never Worry About Losing Your Internet Signal Again
Almost everyone with Wi-Fi has had to endure the dreaded lost signal. But soon, these struggles might be a thing of the past. Away from trying to make living on Mars a possibility, SpaceX is also thinking about how it can improve life on our home planet. One of the most ambitious plans is to have internet coverage across all areas of the planet.
Starlink launched in 2015, and many users have already subscribed to the service’s beta version, which costs $99 per month. In addition to the monthly fee, users also need to pay an upfront price of $499 for the Starlink kit.
According to the Starlink website, beta users can expect speeds of between 50 and 150 megabytes per second (Mb/s). However, when it comes to latency, the company says that these will range from 20 to 40 meters per second (ms).
SpaceX has launched thousands of Starlink rockets into orbit. As reported by Reuters, the company expects that it will have the capacity to deliver worldwide coverage by September 2021.
Brain Technology
In the same way humankind has been ever-curious about what exists in the Solar System and beyond, humans have also been keen to explore how our bodies work. We’ve already seen some people enter chips into their skin, and the brain could be next.
Musk founded Neuralink in 2016 and has since developed a device that will give those suffering from spinal cord injuries more opportunities to communicate with the technology we use each day. As the company says on its website:
“As a first application of this technology, we plan to help people with severe spinal cord injury by giving them the ability to control computers and mobile devices directly with their brains. We would start by recording neural activity in the brain’s movement areas.
“As users think about moving their arms or hands, we would decode those intentions, which would be sent over Bluetooth to the user’s computer. Users would initially learn to control a virtual mouse.”
Neuralink will also potentially roll out to individuals suffering from other brain-related problems, with the capacity to possibly be something that healthy individuals also use one day.
A surgeon will insert the Neuralink technology into a patient’s brain. The company has received hundreds of millions of dollars in funding; at the time of writing, tests on humans are yet to begin.
Sustainability
In recent years, the conversation surrounding climate change has grown louder. Musk has been a vocal advocate for sustainability and aims to achieve a more environmentally friendly future in numerous areas.
It’s not uncommon to see a Tesla vehicle on the streets now, but Musk’s ambitions go beyond that. The company said that it would not accept Bitcoin payments because of climate-related worries, and Musk said on Twitter that Tesla was looking at accepting more sustainable cryptocurrencies.
Musk has also donated hundreds of millions of dollars to causes aimed at tackling climate change.
Elon Musk Is Set to Revolutionize the World Even More Than He Already Has
It’s sometimes difficult to understand how Musk manages to engage himself in so many ambitious projects. But at the root of everything, we can see someone curious about life and genuinely interested in leaving a positive legacy.
The CEO of multiple companies is clearly not afraid to adopt a vision and work relentlessly toward achieving it, as we have seen on numerous occasions. And we’re looking forward to seeing what comes next after these projects are completed.