From his rockets to his self-driving cars – Tesla to Mars, there is nothing too big, too far out for him to have imagined and for him to make real. That he recognizes the limitations others perceive and sees them as not affecting him is a great thing.
Last night’s landing of the second stage of his rocket back home on Earth is a sign that he is reinventing the norm, pushing the boundaries to set new lines in the sand (so he can move them again later!)
Anyone who bet against him hopefully learned their lesson and knows better for next time. Like the President calls out in “Independence Day” – “Plough the road…” [actually I also love the line when he screams “Does anybody have any missile?” but it doesn’t apply!]
Anyway – I titled this article ‘FINDING NEVERLAND’ not only because I truly enjoyed the movie, but also because Elon is an adult who has captured and kept his boylike dreams. Scientifically he sees the possibilities, he has the money (often key to any dream!) AND he dreams without restraint.
In taking a look into his dreams and how he is making them realities I offer the following arenas;
MARs – feel it in the air and on the schedule
"Mars colonial transport architecture." Is a brainstorming meeting on Elon’s schedule each Monday. Why is it so important – besides the innovation that it entails, the drive it provides to provide the best in local space travel – to look ahead?
Elon points out the same thinking that many of us do – in order to preserve the long term survival mankind we need to extend our reach so we (mankind) becomes multiplanetary. It is possible that other companies could have accomplished the same things he has but for one thing, they don’t think space is the limit! Sure, Elon needs the science, but I imagine he goes for the science after he has the dream and maybe the others go for the science to determine where they can dream, Big difference!
Great things have happened for SpaceX – first SpaceX is one of the least expensive rocket manufacturers (making rockets for a fraction of the cost), becoming the first private citizen/company to achieve orbit & return (always important to return!) AND NOW, to successfully land back down on Earth the rockets first stage is just a teaser of even better things to come.
Consider the benefits that are downstream from here; Elon always saw them as the eventual goal. If one has a reusable technology then the prohibitive expensive seen in going to Mars just evaporated.
Stay tuned to him next year as he plans to share his Mars plans with the world! Oh, and he even would like to terraform Mars.
Revolutionizing the Car
Yes – he plans on having his cars as autonomous (ie. They will drive themselves completely!) by about five years from now. They already can essentially park themselves, soon, Musk advises, they will be able to park themselves in the garage and also be remotely summoned (as long as it is all on your property-I’m good with that! Only have a remote start right now!)
As far as what his cars currently can do; well, they receive updates much like a LapTop or an iPhone does/they upload remotely. You gotta admit, that cool. No setting an appointment for a software fix!
Another rather awesome feature is the cruise control. I have a fairly advanced and totally cool car (Subaru Legacy V6 2015 with Eyesight). My cruise control - you can place it on say 70 and if the car in front of you goes 64 mph your car adjusts and stays the right amount behind the other BUT the Tesla car, well, it steers. It can even follow lanes on the highway.
REVOLUTIONIZING LIFE
Elon Musk is doing a lot of other stuff. I think these two only take up about two days maybe three in the week. Surely you have read of my articles on the Hyperloop? That’s Elon’s baby, then there’s the a vertical takeoff-and-landing supersonic electric jet for long-distance travel, solar panels…I could go on, but why bother suffice to say that Elon Musk is part “Back to the Future” and part “Finding Neverland”
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