Why Elon Musk's A Modern Visionary Deserving Of All Our Respect

The technology world has a lot of inspiring figures. The late Steve Jobs of Apple, Bill Gates of Microsoft, Sergey Brin and Larry Page of Google, and more recently Facebook¡¯s Mark Zuckerberg have all discussed their vision of the world. They all believe(d) in technology as a force multiplier, something that¡¯s crucial to shape our collective future.

But, with due respect to everyone mentioned above, Elon Musk is cut from an altogether different cloth. The inspiration behind Iron Man¡¯s Tony Stark persona and currently the 117th richest person in the world with a $10 billion net worth (according to Bloomberg), not to mention with an ex-wife as good as English actress Talulah Riley (of HBO¡¯s Westworld fame), Elon Musk¡¯s an entrepreneur who has founded (and is running) a lot of innovative companies of our time -- Tesla Motors, SpaceX, OpenAI, and SolarCity -- that are inventing or mass producing tech-fuelled solutions to some of humanity¡¯s biggest 21st century problems.

Here¡¯s why we all owe our allegiance to Elon Musk!

Electric Cars

Musk founded Tesla Motors back in 2003, but got actively involved behind the company¡¯s wheels as CEO after 2008. Elon Musk has defined Tesla¡¯s mission as to provide a sub-US$ 30,000 fully electric car. Not only has he proved that an electric car can be fuel-efficient and for adrenaline junkies, he has single-handedly challenged the hegemony of fossil-fuel powered traditional automobile giants, accelerating the development and adoption of electric cars in the US, with plans to expand to the rest of the world.

Not just advancing the electric car concept, Tesla Motors is also conducting crucial research in long-lasting electric batteries.

Rapid Mass Transport (Hyperloop)

Hyperloop is Elon Musk¡¯s solution to rapid mass transport of truly epic scale, something that has the potential to decongest our roads and reduce air pollution. It is a tubular highway constructed above the ground in which a pod or vehicle accelerates up to 700 mph or 1100 kmph in near vacuum state, thanks to magnetic levitation. Hyperloop has been successfully tested in controlled environments and its first true commercial deployment is currently taking place in UAE, where Hyperloop driven transport solutions aims to connect Dubai with Abu Dhabi, and other major cities in the Middle East, in record time. Watch the video below:

Hyperloop¡¯s also slated to run trials in India, as per several reports.

Clean Energy

If you¡¯ve been reading so far, then it¡¯s fairly obvious that Elon Musk¡¯s extremely conscious of developing transport solutions that isn¡¯t fossil fuel dependent, that cuts down pollution. To realise this dream, Elon Musk has invested heavily in building what he calls his first Gigafactory, currently being built in the US state of Nevada.

Currently, measuring close to 2 million sq feet, the Gigafactory¡¯s aim is to reduce the cost of large capacity Li-ion battery packs (aimed to be used in Tesla cars and private homes) by as much as 30% of existing production price. Also, several reports peg the Gigafactory consuming anywhere between 100MW to 300MW of energy to produce 35GWh to 50GWh of Li-ion battery capacity. That¡¯s like consuming 300 tomatoes to produce 3600 bottles of tomato ketchup!

Reusable Rocket

This is one project that¡¯s especially close to Elon Musk¡¯s heart, by his own admission. It¡¯s a critical piece of Musk¡¯s Mars jigsaw puzzle, the ability to launch a rocket into space and bring it down to earth without destroying it, in one piece -- something that hasn¡¯t been possible till now. SpaceX¡¯s Falcon 9 rockets are on the frontlines of realizing this dream, and while several test flights have failed, one historic flight gives us a glimpse of humanity¡¯s space future:

The final phase of Falcon 9 rockets is slated for production next year, with test flights resuming by mid-year. If all goes well, reusable rockets will launch a commercial payload into space in a couple of years, bringing down the cost of space exploration by a substantial amount.

Human-friendly AI development

Along with Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk is a staunch believer that really powerful AI can potentially exterminate the human race off the face of this earth -- before an asteroid hits our planet or we all get consumed by a global thermonuclear war!

To prevent this catastrophe, of us creating our own Terminators, Elon Musk is fast promoting OpenAI -- a non-profit tasked with creating human friendly artificial intelligence systems that don¡¯t pose any existential threats to humans as a whole. More power to Mr Musk! Anything that helps us survive longer than any sentient system we created should be welcomed and promoted with gusto.

Global Internet

If you were wondering how Elon Musk concentrates on all of these different business units, whether he has 40 hours in a day or more, then you¡¯re not alone. Another project close to Musk¡¯s heart is a plan to launch over 4000 satellites in space to spread high bandwidth, low-cost Internet connectivity throughout the planet. In this race, he¡¯s competing with the likes of Google and Facebook, who have similar plans.

Through SpaceX, Elon Musk has asked the U.S. government permission to launch 4,425 satellites in orbit to provide high-speed Internet across the world, according to a newly filed technical application with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Each satellite part of the global grid will weigh around 386 kg and be parked in a geo-stationary orbit 1,150 km to 1,275 km from the surface of the earth. If deployed successfully, the space Internet would offer speeds of up to 1 Gbps for end users. YAY!

Exodus to Mars

All this is great, but deep down Elon Musk really believes that humanity¡¯s meant to escape Earth and colonize Mars -- in our lifetimes! Yes, no kidding.

In September 2016, Musk actually announced a no-nonsense plan to transport humans to Mars to help colonize the red planet. By Musk¡¯s calculations, a one-way journey to Mars right now (using existing tech) costs around $10 billion. But once the SpaceX Interplanetary Transport System is fully operational, each person aboard will be able to go to Mars for as little as $200,000. These price cuts would be accomplished primarily by the use of less heavy materials, stronger rockets and reusable technology. Colonizing Mars would take anywhere between 40 to 100 years, according to Musk, provided we start working towards that goal right now.

Musk once famously said: "I'd like to die on Mars, just not on impact."

For the sake of you, me, and the rest of humanity, we hope so, too.