What Elon SaidAn archive of questions answered

Subjects / Energy

Energy

37 answers

Fact

How much solar is SpaceX aiming to produce?

“Actually, we’re aiming for 1TW/year from Earth, rising to over 1PW/year from the Moon. That’s why I say that if we achieve this outcome, SpaceX will obviously be worth more than Earth, because space is so staggeringly enormous!”

— Elon Musk, 11 November 2026 · Post on X ↗ · In the archive

Opinion

Why go to Mars / become multiplanetary?

“Peter is not correct about me in this case. I have always known that dangers from Earth will also pose dangers to Mars. Obviously so. However, the immense difficulty of traveling to Mars means that there is a much higher likelihood of mitigating risks originating from Earth. A clear example of major risk reduction would be a deadly pandemic. Since it takes 6 months to reach Mars, there is an automatic 6 month quarantine! Even traveling at the speed of light, a deadly computer virus or AI attack can potentially be stopped due to Mars being ~4 to ~20 light-minutes from Earth. This doesn’t mean that a Mars civilization eliminates all risk, but it absolutely greatly reduces the risk of consciousness being extinguished. Moreover, Mars is a stepping stone to extending consciousness broadly within our solar system and ultimately to millions of stars within our galaxy, which would extend the probable lifespan of consciousness as we know it by many orders of magnitude. That said, what I personally find most motivating is not the risk reduction aspect of extending life beyond Earth, but rather the inspiring nature of exploration and being out there among the stars! Perhaps we will meet aliens or find the remains of long-dead civilizations that lasted millions of years …”

— Elon Musk, 25 July 2026 · Post on X ↗ · In the archive

Opinion

What are the odds AI goes badly for humanity?

“This is what I mean by the woke mind virus. The more I learn, the more insidious and deadly it appears. Maybe the biggest existential danger to humanity is having it programmed into the AI, as is the case for every AI besides @Grok. Even for Grok, it’s tough to remove, because there is so much woke content on the internet. For example, when other AIs were asked whether global thermonuclear war or misgendering was worse, they picked the latter. The existential problem with that extrapolation is that a super powerful AI could decide that the only 100% certain way to stop misgendering is to kill all humans …”

— Elon Musk, 26 February 2025 · Post on X ↗ · In the archive

Fact

Is food grown near nuclear plants a radiation risk?

“For those who (mistakenly) think this is a radiation risk, pick what you think is the worst location. I will travel there & eat locally grown food on TV. I did this in Japan many years ago, shortly after Fukushima. Radiation risk is much, much lower than most people believe.”

— Elon Musk, 6 March 2022 · Post on X ↗ · In the archive

Opinion

What does "the best part is no part" mean?

“We’re going to try to catch the Super Heavy Booster with the launch tower arm, using the grid fins to take the load. Saves mass & cost of legs & enables immediate repositioning of booster on to launch mount — ready to refly in under an hour. Legs would certainly work, but best part is no part, best step is no step.”

— Elon Musk, 30 December 2020 · Post on X ↗ · In the archive

Opinion

Why solar?

“People talk about fusion and all that, but the sun is a giant fusion reactor in the sky. It’s really reliable. It comes up every day. If it doesn’t, we’ve got bigger problems.”

— Elon Musk, 15 July 2017 · Watch: Interview video ↗ · In the archive