Elon Musk's answers in 2012
Q5 Why go to Mars / what is SpaceX's mission?
Humanity should become a multi-planet species; a spacefaring future is inspiring compared with being forever confined to Earth until some eventual extinction event. That is why he started SpaceX. link
Says a Mars base would ensure the continuance of life and be the most exciting adventure ever. link
He said even if things are 99% likely fine on Earth, a 1% chance is worth a fair bit of effort to back up the biosphere. link
In college he asked what would most affect the future of humanity: the internet, sustainable energy (SolarCity production, Tesla consumption), and space exploration — specifically making life multiplanetary. link
Says becoming multi-planet means moving millions of people to Mars. link
Q11 What drives you / what is the meaning of life?
He said that if we expand the scope and scale of consciousness, we are better able to ask the right questions and become more enlightened. link
Q20 How hard should founders work?
He does not ever give up; he would have to be dead or completely incapacitated. A fourth failure would have exhausted the company's resources. link
Actively seek out and listen carefully to negative feedback; people tend to avoid it because it is painful, and that is a common mistake. link
Q22 When will Starship go to Mars?
Predicted people on Mars in under 20 years, most likely 12 to 15. link
Q47 Has Tesla come close to failing?
Coming into rockets knowing nothing, the odds were not in his favor; when something is important enough you do it even though the odds are not in your favor. link
At the beginning of SpaceX he thought the most likely outcome was failure. For Tesla he first hoped GM's EV1 meant incumbents would do it, until they crushed the cars. link
Q107 When will a city on Mars be self-sustaining?
Says millions of people are needed for a Mars colony, 80k+ moving per year. link
Q118 What's your algorithm for designing products?
He said the first thing to do when creating a company is to build a working prototype. link
Q121 Should governments put a price on carbon?
He compared carbon emissions to smoking: the evidence mounted for decades and was denied, and now 'we're smoking the planet'. link
Q124 When will Dragon carry astronauts?
If the demo flight succeeds, he expected a steady stream of cargo flights to the space station under the CRS contract, with cargo flights building knowledge for crewed flight. link
In a perfect world, he said Dragon carrying astronauts was probably about three years away, maybe a little less. link
He said the flight is explicitly a test, and if it doesn't reach the station that should not be taken as a verdict on commercial crew transport. link
He expected the next two cargo flights probably in the summer and at the end of 2012, with timing to be worked out with NASA. link
Q125 What is Tesla's mission?
He said the goal of Tesla was to show what electric cars can do and change their slow, ugly golf-cart image. link
Says his absolute goal with Tesla has always been mass market electric cars. link
Q126 What did Elon promise for the Model 3?
He said the high-volume third-generation car would be to the Model S what a BMW 3 Series is to a 5 Series. link
Q131 Why does rocket reusability matter?
Calls propulsive landing a critical step toward a fully reusable Mars transport system. link
Q132 How fast is Tesla expanding Superchargers?
Says Superchargers will let you travel anywhere on pure sunlight for free. link