Going around the world in a day is so cliche to Elon Musk.
After sharing his updated plans to hit Mars and the Moon with the International Astronautical Congress on Thursday night, the Tesla and SpaceX head honcho unveiled a plan to shoot passengers “anywhere on Earth in under an hour” using rockets.
In a SpaceX video that breaks down the idea, commuters in New York City use SpaceX’s upcoming mega-rocket (nicknamed “Big F–king Rocket”) to enter the Earth’s orbit, separates into a smaller ship, and blast towards Shanghai. Total trip time: 39 minutes, after hitting speeds of 27,000 kilometers per hour (or nearly 17,000 miles per hour).
If Shanghai isn’t for you, the video demo says London to Dubai or New York City in 29 minutes, Los Angeles to Toronto in 24 minutes, or Hong Kong to Singapore in 22 minutes are all options as well.
Musk said he wants to start building BFR within the next six to nine months, which he plans on using to send humans to Mars by 2024.
Details on the project were scarce. Musk didn’t mention when the proposed rocket-around-the-world trips would first launch, or how many passengers can go. Later on his Instagram account, Musk said the “cost per seat should be about the same as a full fare economy in an aircraft. Forgot to mention that.”
Musk was mainly focused on the Red Planet while addressing the IAC in Australia. The entrepreneur said SpaceX is aiming to land two cargo ships on Mars in 2022 to leave supplies needed for human exploration.
“That’s not a typo — although it is aspirational,” said Musk on hitting Mars within five years.
For a look at Musk’s city-to-city rocket plan, check out the video below.
Elon Musk has been at the forefront of Silicon Valley innovation for two decades. The South Africa-born entrepreneur has been linked to a number of high-profile, intriguing ventures... so let's take a look.
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Pay Pal
Musk made his initial fortune thanks to PayPal, which he sold to eBay in 2002 for $1.5 billion. He made a cool $165 million off the deal.
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Tesla Motors
Instead of buying an island and living the high life after the PayPal sell, Musk went to work on getting the world off its dependency on oil. He founded Tesla Motors (now Tesla Inc.) in 2003, taking over an old Toyota-General Motors manufacturing plant in the Bay Area. The slick electric cars can travel 250 miles without a charge and sell for upwards of $100,000. Its "mass" car, the Model 3, is due out in 2018.
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Space X
Perhaps the project most important to Musk is SpaceX. Founded in 2002, the rocket company has worked with NASA on several launches. SpaceX made history when it developed "recycled" rockets that are able to be launched, landed and reused. Even more ambitious, Musk wants to send manned missions to Mars within the next decade... and colonize the red planet.
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Hyperloop
Musk frequently travels back and forth between NorCal and SoCal, and he wants to do it quickly. Enter Hyperloop, where passengers will be put in pods and shot through tubes connecting San Francisco and Los Angeles at speeds of up to 760 miles per hour. Musk sketched the concept in 2013, and it's now being pursued by a group in L.A. full-time.
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Neuralink
Musk is also big on artificial intelligence and hopes to find a way to directly connect humans to machines. That's where his Neuralink comes in. Co-founded by Musk in 2016, the company aims to integrate our minds with AI advancements via chip implants.
Via @nbashaw on Twitter
The Boring Company
The Boring Company aims to alleviate traffic by building an underground network of tunnels. Cars would be able to latch on to giant sleds and zip through tunnels at 125 mph or passengers can take futuristic glass buses if they want.
The Boring Company
SolarCity
Founded by Musk's cousins in 2006, SolarCity is the second-largest provider of solar panels in the USA. Musk owned 22 percent of its shares when Tesla bought-out the company for more than $2.5 billion in 2016.
Tesla Inc.
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The real-life Tony Stark is the poster boy for Silicon Valley entrepreneurship
Elon Musk has been at the forefront of Silicon Valley innovation for two decades. The South Africa-born entrepreneur has been linked to a number of high-profile, intriguing ventures... so let's take a look.