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Elon Musk lays out bold vision for humanity as a spacefaring civilization

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Elon Musk has published a lengthy dissertation detailing his vision for making humans a multi-planetary species in the online publishing house Liebert Pub.

Musk notes that the first step to accomplishing life outside of Earth, which he envisions to be Mars, is to establish reliable space transportation to and from the red planet. Once that building block is in place, work to establish a colony on the planet can commence.

To understand the process, we have to rewind the tape back to the underlying motivation behind Mars. Why do we need a colony of humans living on Mars? Musk believes, as does the greater scientific community, that if humanity remains on Earth, it will inevitably face extinction at the hands of an asteroid or other catastrophic event. Even with technology at our disposal, humanity would suffer a similar fate as the dinosaurs if a comparable asteroid was intent on meeting up with Earth.

Musk doesn’t want humanity to die off and believes that establishing a colony on Mars is the best backup plan for that eventuality. The red planet has an atmosphere and receives enough sunshine that it would be able to sustain life if we put a bit of planning and work into it. Gravity is less than Earth so our bodies and lifestyles would naturally have to evolve to the lower gravity. Much like Asa Butterfield who played a boy born on Mars in the movie “The Space Between Us“, we do not know what impact lower gravity would have or could have over long periods of time.

Dragon to Mars | Credit: SpaceX

Dragon to Mars | Credit: SpaceX

Plants could be cultivated on the planet and facts we’ve learned of Mars leads us to believe that establishing a colony there is possible. Musk believes that the we would need a significant number of people living on Mars for it to be self-sustaining. He specifically notes that “the threshold for a self-sustaining city on Mars or a civilization would be a million people,” which requires a reliable transportation system between Earth and Mars, a lot of money, and ultimately time. Enough time for Earth to host civilization until Mars became humanity’s new home.

Manufacturing, fuel production, food production, atmospheric conditioning, heating, clothing and the like would all need to be created from scratch on the planet. Until that is possible, those supplies would have to be shipped from Earth to the red planet which mandates that cost of travel needs to be affordable. “You cannot create a self-sustaining civilization if the ticket price is $10 billion per person,” Musk shared.

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Mars has been the focus of SpaceX from day-1 with every other task the company has taken acting as a mere stepping stone for the greater journey to come. Locking in contracts to supply the ISS funds rocket development. Rocket development tails into stage 1 booster reuse which is a massive step along the way towards cutting the cost of space travel. Reusing stage 1 lets the company focus on reusing fairings, stage 2 boosters and Dragon Capsules. Those cost efficiencies allow the company to increase the number of flights per year which is yet another advantage over its competition. This enables SpaceX to generate more revenue and accelerate the pace of development on new products like the Falcon Heavy rocket which is said to have 2.5x the capacity of Falcon 9.

A successful Falcon Heavy will lead to SpaceX’s Mars Vehicle which is expected to have 10x the capacity of Falcon Heavy.

While Mars is a bold enough vision for most, Musk is already looking beyond the planet, tempting the imaginations of those young and old with ideas straight out of science fiction. Musk envisions fueling depots scattered across planets that would enable humanity to truly become a spacefaring civilization. Let your imaginations soar, kiddos. The future is looking bright!

Source: Liebert Pub

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I'm passionate about clean technology, sustainability and life. I've worked in manufacturing, IT, project management and environmental...and enjoy unpacking complex topics in layman's terms. TSLA investor. Find more of my words on my website or follow me on Twitter for all the latest. Tesla Referral link: http://ts.la/kyle623

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X account with 184 followers inadvertently saves US space program amid Musk-Trump row

Needless to say, the X user has far more than 184 followers today after his level-headed feat.

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Joel Kowsky, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

An X user with 184 followers has become the unlikely hero of the United States’ space program by effectively de-escalating a row between SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and President Donald Trump on social media.

Needless to say, the X user has far more than 184 followers today after his level-headed feat.

A Near Fall

During Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s fallout last week, the U.S. President stated in a post on Truth Social that a good way for the United States government to save money would be to terminate subsidies and contracts from the CEO’s companies. Musk responded to Trump’s post by stating that SpaceX will start decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately. 

Musk’s comment was received with shock among the space community, partly because the U.S. space program is currently reliant on SpaceX to send supplies and astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). Without Dragon, the United States will likely have to utilize Russia’s Soyuz for the same services—at a significantly higher price.

X User to the Rescue

It was evident among X users that Musk’s comments about Dragon being decommissioned were posted while emotions were high. It was then no surprise that an X account with 184 followers, @Fab25june, commented on Musk’s post, urging the CEO to rethink his decision. “This is a shame this back and forth. You are both better than this. Cool off and take a step back for a couple days,” the X user wrote in a reply.

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Much to the social media platform’s surprise, Musk responded to the user. Even more surprising, the CEO stated that SpaceX would not be decommissioning Dragon after all. “Good advice. Ok, we won’t decommission Dragon,” Musk wrote in a post on X.

Not Planned, But Welcomed

The X user’s comment and Musk’s response were received extremely well by social media users, many of whom noted that @Fab25june’s X comment effectively saved the U.S. space program. In a follow-up comment, the X user, who has over 9,100 followers as of writing, stated that he did not really plan on being a mediator between Musk and Trump. 

“Elon Musk replied to me. Somehow, I became the accidental peace broker between two billionaires. I didn’t plan this. I was just being me. Two great minds can do wonders. Sometimes, all it takes is a breather. Grateful for every like, DM, and new follow. Life’s weird. The internet’s weirder. Let’s ride. (Manifesting peace… and maybe a Model Y.)” the X user wrote.

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Tesla Cybertruck takes a bump from epic failing Dodge Charger

The Cybertruck seemed unharmed by the charging Charger.

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Credit: Hammer_of_something/Reddit

There comes a time in a driver’s life when one is faced with one’s limitations. For the driver of a Dodge Charger, this time came when he lost control and crashed into a Tesla Cybertruck–an absolute epic fail. 

A video of the rather unfortunate incident was shared on the r/TeslaLounge subreddit.

Charging Charger Fails

As could be seen in the video, which was posted on the subreddit by Model Y owner u/Hammer_of_something, a group of teens in a Dodge Charger decided to do some burnouts at a Tesla Supercharger. Unfortunately, the driver of the Charger failed in his burnout or donut attempt, resulting in the mopar sedan going over a curb and bumping a charging Cybertruck.

Ironically, the Dodge Charger seemed to have been parked at a Supercharger stall before its driver decided to perform the failed stunt. This suggests that the vehicle was likely ICE-ing a charging stall before it had its epic fail moment. Amusingly enough, the subreddit member noted that the Cybertruck did not seem like it took any damage at all despite its bump. The Charger, however, seemed like it ran into some trouble after crashing into the truck.

Alleged Aftermath

As per the the r/TeslaLounge subreddit member, the Cybertruck owner came rushing out to his vehicle after the Dodge Charger crashed into it. The Model Y owner then sent over the full video of the incident, which clearly showed the Charger attempting a burnout, failing, and bumping into the Cybertruck. The Cybertruck owner likely appreciated the video, in part because it showed the driver of the Dodge Charger absolutely freaking out after the incident.

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The Cybertruck is not an impregnable vehicle, but it can take bumps pretty well thanks to its thick stainless steel body. Based on this video, it appears that the Cybertruck can even take bumps from a charging Charger, all while chilling and charging at a Supercharger. As for the teens in the Dodge, they likely had to provide a long explanation to authorities after the incident, since the cops were called to the location.

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Anti-Elon Musk group crushes Tesla Model 3 with Sherman tank–with unexpected results

Ironically enough, the group’s video ended up highlighting something very positive for Tesla.

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Credit: Led By Donkeys/X

Anti-Elon Musk protesters and critics tend to show their disdain for the CEO in various ways, but a recent video from political action group Led By Donkeys definitely takes the cake when it comes to creativity.

Ironially enough, the group’s video also ended up highlighting something very positive for Tesla.

Tank vs. Tesla

In its video, Led By Donkeys featured Ken Turner, a 98-year-old veteran who served in the British army during World War II. The veteran stated that Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, is “using his immense power to support the far-right in Europe, and his money comes from Tesla cars.” 

He also noted that he had a message for the Tesla CEO: “We’ve crushed fascism before and we’ll crush it again.” To emphasize his point, the veteran proceeded to drive a Sherman tank over a blue Tesla Model 3 sedan, which, of course, had a plate that read “Fascism.” 

The heavy tank crushed the Model 3’s glass roof and windows, much to the delight of Led By Donkeys’ commenters on its official YouTube channel. But at the end of it all, the aftermath of the anti-Elon Musk demonstration ended up showcasing something positive for the electric vehicle maker.

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Tesla Model 3 Tanks the Tank?

As could be seen from the wreckage of the Tesla Model 3 after its Sherman encounter, only the glass roof and windows of the all-electric sedan were crushed. Looking at the wreckage of the Model 3, it seemed like its doors could still be opened, and everything on its lower section looked intact.

Considering that a standard M4 Sherman weighs about 66,800 to 84,000 pounds, the Model 3 actually weathered the tank’s assault really well. Granted, the vehicle’s suspension height before the political action group’s demonstration suggests that the Model 3’s high voltage battery had been removed beforehand. But even if it hadn’t been taken off, it seemed like the vehicle’s battery would have survived the heavy ordeal without much incident.

This was highlighted in comments from users on social media platform X, many of whom noted that a person in the Model 3 could very well have survived the ordeal with the Sherman. And that, ultimately, just speaks to the safety of Tesla’s vehicles. There is a reason why Teslas consistently rank among the safest cars on the road, after all.

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