---
title: "In Cryptic Tweet, Elon Musk Refers to Antimatter-Powered Rockets"
description: "If a new tweet means anything, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk already has his eyes set on a much higher-tech rocket fuel: antimatter."
date: "2021-03-08"
modified: "2021-03-08"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-antimatter-powered-rockets"
categories:
  - "Elon Musk"
  - "Future Society"
  - "Science & Energy"
  - "The Industrialists"
tags:
  - "elon musk"
  - "NASA"
  - "SpaceX"
  - "the digest"
---

# In Cryptic Tweet, Elon Musk Refers to Antimatter-Powered Rockets

![If a new tweet means anything, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk already has his eyes set on a much higher-tech rocket fuel: antimatter.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/cryptic-tweet-elon-musk-rockets-powered-antimatter.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: NASA/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Yes Man

SpaceX's Starship is powered by methane. Its Falcon 9 runs on highly refined kerosene known as RP-1.

But if a new tweet means anything, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk already has his eyes set on a much higher-tech rocket fuel: antimatter.

In a reply to [a post](<https://twitter.com/engineers_feed/status/1368833871152771078>) about antimatter rockets — hypothetical spacecraft that would be powered by antimatter — Musk tweeted [just two words](<https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1368845550687117312>): "Ultimately, yes."

## Nothing Antimatters

In science fiction, antimatter is often suggested as a fuel or even a weapon for futuristic spacecraft.

Back in reality, it's matter composed of antiparticles. Physicists have never succeeded in producing very much, but if they could, many believe it could be an incredibly potent fuel.

In 2006, for instance, NASA [estimated that](<https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/home/antimatter_spaceship.html>) just a few milligrams of antimatter could push a spacecraft all the way to Mars. And more recently, [some physicists have speculated](<https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2016/02/24/antimatter-space-propulsion-possible-within-a-decade-say-physicists/?sh=6dc829a75849>) that antimatter propulsion could be practical within ten years.

But as to whether SpaceX is secretly working on antimatter propulsion? We'll probably just have to wait to find out.

**More on antimatter:** [*10 Strange Physics Facts about Antimatter*](<https://futurism.com/10-strange-physics-facts-antimatter>)

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)