---
title: "Elon Musk: A Round-Trip Ticket to Mars Will Cost Just $100,000"
description: "SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter Sunday night that he expects a round-trip ticket to Mars to eventually fall below the cost of a luxury wedding."
date: "2019-02-11"
modified: "2019-02-11"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-round-trip-mars"
categories:
  - "Astronomy"
  - "Elon Musk"
  - "Future Society"
  - "Mars"
  - "Space"
  - "The Industrialists"
tags:
  - "elon musk"
  - "mars"
  - "SpaceX"
  - "the digest"
---

# Elon Musk: A Round-Trip Ticket to Mars Will Cost Just $100,000

![SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter Sunday night that he expects a round trip ticket to Mars to eventually fall below the cost of a luxury wedding.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/elon-musk-round-trip-mars.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: SpaceX\</em\>*

## Sticker Shock

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk [said on Twitter](<https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1094796246613516289>) Sunday night that he expects a round**-**trip ticket to Mars to eventually cost less than a luxury wedding.

"Very dependent on volume, but I’m confident moving to Mars (return ticket is free) will one day cost less than $500k & maybe even below $100k," he wrote. "Low enough that most people in advanced economies could sell their home on Earth & move to Mars if they want."

## Cost of Living

If Musk is right, it'd mean that the cost of Mars missions is set to fall by several orders of magnitude. NASA's Curiosity rover, for instance, [quickly ate up](<https://www.space.com/10762-nasa-mars-rover-overbudget.html>) more than $2.5 billion in funding.

And that's without getting into the expensive proposition of living on Mars, where any off-world colonies would initially be entirely dependent on shipments from Earth.

## The Price Is Right

The extraordinary ambition of Musk's prediction wasn't lost on some Twitter users. "Fyre Festival Part Deux," [one replied](<https://twitter.com/perk/status/1094941537245581312>).

Maybe that skepticism is why, in a follow**-**up reply, Musk seemed to hedge his bets.

"Just planning on keeping the public informed about progress & setbacks," he [wrote](<https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1094799667370455042>). "Will be some \[Rapid Unscheduled Disassemblies\] along the way, but excitement is guaranteed!"

**READ MORE:** [Elon Musk Reveals Future Price Plan for a Return Ticket to Mars](<https://www.inverse.com/article/53169-elon-musk-reveals-future-price-plan-for-a-return-ticket-to-mars>) \[*Inverse*\]

***More on SpaceX:*** [Elon Musk’s New Goal: “Reach the Moon as Fast as Possible”](<https://futurism.com/elon-musk-reach-moon-starship-raptor>)

## 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>)