Elon Musk has long promoted a bold vision for humanity’s future on Mars. But in a recent interview, the world’s richest man shared his most candid—and alarming—reason yet for investing billions into building a self-sustaining civilization beyond Earth.
In a conversation with Fox News, the SpaceX and Tesla CEO warned that the future of life on Earth is ultimately doomed.
“Mars is life insurance for life collectively,” Musk stated. “Eventually, all life on Earth will be destroyed by the Sun.”
A Future Beyond Earth
Musk’s space company, SpaceX, is already building the technology required to transport humans to the Red Planet, with development of the Starship rocket aimed at enabling interplanetary travel.
His timeline? Roughly 20 to 30 years.
“Starship has the potential to make life multi-planetary—to make us a multi-planet civilization for the first time in Earth’s history,” he claimed.
Yet, unlike romanticized visions of space exploration, Musk’s goal is not limited to touching down and planting flags.
“It’s not just about landing on Mars and doing flags and footprints,” he explained. “It’s about creating a self-sustaining civilisation.”
The Clock Is Ticking, Even If Slowly
While the Sun’s transformation into a red giant is predicted by NASA to occur in about five billion years, eventually engulfing planets including Earth, Musk believes that waiting is not an option.
“The Sun is gradually expanding,” he warned. “We do, at some point, need to be multi-planetary because Earth will be incinerated.”
NASA concurs with the long-term danger. In their official guidance, they note that once the Sun begins to die, it will expand and possibly swallow Mercury, Venus—and even Earth.
Survival Requires Self-Sufficiency
For Musk, merely getting humans to Mars is not enough. His goal is to create a fully independent civilisation capable of surviving without Earth.
“If the resupply ships are necessary for Mars to survive, then we’ve not created life insurance,” he stressed. “We’ve failed to ensure the continuity of life as we know it.”
In other words, until Mars can support itself—without help from Earth—humanity remains vulnerable to extinction-level events.
Population Crisis and ‘Legion-Level’ Reproduction
Beyond solar threats, Musk has repeatedly voiced his concern over falling birth rates, calling it “the single biggest problem” facing civilization today. To address this, he has previously suggested using surrogates to dramatically increase population numbers before catastrophe strikes.
“To reach legion-level before the apocalypse,” Musk reportedly texted influencer Ashley St. Clair, “we will need to use surrogates.”
In a further indication of his long-term planning, Musk has even joked about donating sperm for future Martian colonists to help ensure humanity thrives beyond Earth.
Final Thoughts: Humanity’s Backup Plan
Though critics have called his ideas grandiose—or even dystopian—Musk remains unwavering. His efforts to colonize Mars, combined with his warnings about underpopulation, reveal a man driven by more than ambition. They reflect a deep-seated fear about the fragility of Earth-bound life, and a desire to secure humanity’s future—regardless of the odds.
“The moment Mars becomes self-sustaining,” Musk concluded, “that’s when the destiny of life will forever change.”