Elon Musk Says He Is Now the "Imperator of Mars"

Whatever that means.

Imperator of Mars

Another week, another preposterous outburst by SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Last month, Musk claimed the title "Technoking of Tesla," a mostly nonsensical distinction. Now, the billionaire has added the phrase "Imperator of Mars" to his Twitter bio.

Characteristically, nothing in particular seems to have prompted the move. It's also a bit unclear what he means. Imperator is a term that usually refers to a commander in chief of the ancient Romans, Newsweek pointed out in the wake of the update.

Is Musk suggesting he's taking martial control over the Red Planet? Will his space company declare martial law? With this mercurial billionaire, anything is on the table.

Mars Base Alpha

The bio might also be a nod to the hit 2015 action film "Mad Max: Fury Road," which starred Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa, a driver in a post-apocalyptic Australia.

Perhaps the explanation is simpler than that, though. Musk's ambitions with SpaceX's Starship are sky high, with Musk suggesting one thousand of them could one day allow us to establish a permanent foothold on Mars.

After all, we've learned over the years not to take Musk's mutterings at face value. There's a considerable chance Musk's new-and-improved Twitter bio is the result of a couple of hours of idly scrolling through his Twitter mentions.

Besides, it's still far too early for Musk to declare himself emperor of Mars. The prototypes of his company's Mars-bound rocket have yet to launch to orbit — or even land without erupting in a violent fireball.

Carthaginian general Hannibal, one of the Romans' most reviled enemies, would laugh him out of the streets of ancient Rome.

READ MORE: Imperator Meaning As Elon Musk Changes Twitter Bio to 'Imperator of Mars' [Newsweek]

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