The Mars Project
Let’s be honest: Elon Musk doesn’t need his ego boosted any more than it currently is. But that didn’t stop Twitter users from resurfacing this curious piece of trivia about the Technoking of Tesla this week: He shares the same first name as a character in a 69-year-old (nice) book about colonizing Mars.
It began back in December 2020, when Twitter user Toby Li responded to a tweet from Musk about his destiny, according to CNET.
“Speaking about destiny, did you know that Von Braun’s 1953 book ‘Mars Project,’ referenced a person named Elon that would bring humans to Mars? Pretty nuts,” Li’s tweet said along with a pic of the book.
Musk replied, “Are we sure this is real?” and another user responded with the English translation of the novel showing that it is, in fact, real.
To be clear, “Elon” isn’t the character’s name but rather the title given to elected leaders of Mars. Still, the coincidence is pretty damn wild.
From Nazis to NASA
The book, titled The Mars Project, was published in 1952 (English translation published in 1953) by famed Nazi scientist turned NASA engineer Wernher von Braun.
He had previously helped design and develop the V-2 rocket for the Nazi government during World War II, according to NASA.
Following the Axis defeat, he was recruited by the United States government to work at NASA. He went on to lead the development of the Saturn V launch vehicle, which eventually took the Apollo missions to the moon.
Also, we assume he quietly developed some sort of time traveling tech or future predicting crystal ball. How else would you explain this crazy coincidence?
READ MORE: Elon Musk’s first name shows up in 1953 book about colonizing Mars [CNET]
More on Elon Musk: Elon Musk Just Got Majorly Called Out for Stealing Memes