--- title: "Neil deGrasse Tyson Slams Elon Musk’s Plans for Mars Colonization" description: "Neil deGrasse Tyson doesn't think very highly of multi-hyphenate billionaire Elon Musk's desperate desire to deliver humanity to Mars." date: "2024-11-25" modified: "2024-11-25" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/neil-degrasse-tyson-slams-elon-musk-plans-mars-colonization" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Mars" - "Space" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "mars" - "neil degrasse tyson" - "the digest" --- # Neil deGrasse Tyson Slams Elon Musk’s Plans for Mars Colonization ![Neil deGrasse Tyson doesn't think very highly of multi-hyphenate billionaire Elon Musk's desperate desire to deliver humanity to Mars.]() *\Image: Gary Miller/FilmMagic\* ## Um, Actually Famed astrophysicist and [science fiction pedant]() Neil deGrasse Tyson doesn't think very highly of multi-hyphenate billionaire Elon Musk's [desperate desire to deliver humanity to Mars](). During a chat with Bill Maher — who has plenty of quibbles with the plan himself — last week, the pair took aim at Musk's plan to make humanity "interplanetary" by establishing a [city on the Red Planet](). "I don’t see it happening until governments judge that it’s geopolitically in our interest," deGrasse Tyson told Maher, as [quoted by *The Hill*](). "But I believe president-elect Trump has some interest in Mars, so you might have another conversation in a couple of months." "At some point, somebody has to pay for it, and just being interested in something is not the same thing as paying for it," he added. Maher [reiterated a long-held criticism](), arguing that we've got plenty of fires to put out on Earth — so why abandon it in favor of a hostile planet that isn't currently capable of hosting life? "How badly would we have to ratfuck Earth before it’s worse than a place that’s 200 below zero with no air and no water with six months to reach it?!" Maher [argued](). "Preach it! Preach it!" Tyson replied, egging him on. ## Slinging Martian Mud Tyson argued that going to Mars was a terrible value proposition to venture capitalists, charging that it would lead to people dying, cost "$1 trillion," and have zero return on investment. "That’s a five-minute meeting," he said. "And it doesn’t happen." Unsurprisingly, Musk didn't take kindly to the televised discussion, taking to his echo chamber of X-formerly-Twitter to vent his frustrations. "Wow, they really don’t get it," he [tweeted](). "Mars is critical to the long-term survival of consciousness." "Also, I’m not going to ask any venture capitalists for money," Musk claimed. "I realize that it makes no sense as an investment. That’s why I’m gathering resources." The mercurial CEO then went on to bury any willingness to have a meaningful discussion by blasting out nonsensical far-right talking points. "The real problem is that Neil decided to grovel to the woke far left when he got hit with a #MeToo," an incensed Musk screeched. "You can avoid being canceled if you beg for forgiveness and push their nonsense ideology." ## Enemy Mine It's far from the first time Tyson has criticized Musk, sometimes rashly. Earlier this year, the astrophysicist [landed in hot water]() after arguing that SpaceX hadn't done anything "that NASA hasn't already done." Several weeks later, Tyson was forced to walk back his overgeneralizing and inaccurate statement. On his "StarTalk" channel last month, Tyson [admitted]() that "SpaceX has been advancing the engineering frontier of space exploration, especially with the spectacle of the returning of the first stage back to Earth so that you can reuse it." "Good luck, SpaceX," he said at the time. "Godspeed to you!" **More on Mars:** *[Scientist Says NASA Lander May Have Accidentally Killed Life on Mars]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()