Hello and welcome back to Life’s Biggest Questions, I’m Ron McKenzie-Lefurgey.
Following the successful launch of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket, the world’s attention
is now on Elon Musk even more than before.
Many are just waiting for the next technological innovation he’ll bring us, and he is quickly
becoming one of the best-respected minds in the world.
But will the contributions of this real-life Tony Stark be enough to change the world for
good?
Let’s explore.
If you want more Science-related videos, check out our “Biggest Science Questions” playlist
on the channel.
Now get ready, it’s time to ask the question: Will Elon Musk Change the World?
Well, if we’re trying to determine whether or not he’ll change the world, we should
probably start by looking at what he’s done already.
And, well, he’s already changed the world a fair bit.
First and foremost, we should start with Tesla Motors.
Tesla has grown enormously in a very short time, with stocks increasing almost 700 percent
in just two and a half years.
These 100% electric cars are without a doubt the way of the future, and will allow us to
greatly lower emissions moving forward as they become more accessible.
Furthermore, Tesla is putting a good deal of time and money into automation, which is
another aspect of car travel that seems to be inevitable.
Musk was also highly influential in Paypal, after his company X.com merged with Confinity.
After the merger, Paypal made great strides, becoming a powerhouse in online payments before
being bought by eBay for a whopping 1.5 billion dollars.
Musk’s improvements to Paypal not only made it more popular, but aspects have been used
in later e-payment services as well.
And then, of course, there’s SpaceX.
SpaceX is making incredible steps in the advancement of space technology.
It launched 18 successful Falcon 9 flights in 2017, and the recent Falcon Heavy launch
has changed the way we look at rockets, by allowing many previously-disposable parts
to be reused.
This has both reinvigorated the desire for space travel in the people of Earth, and opened
up opportunities for commercial space travel.
Musk plans to lower the cost of human spaceflight by a factor of 10, and even hopes to have
a colony on Mars by 2040.
Needless to say, if he achieves these goals, the world will be a very, very different place.
Perhaps the most influential aspect of Musk’s involvement is the Musk Foundation.
This is an organization with the goal of supporting young minds.
It funds various studies into beneficial areas, like renewable energy and childhood diseases
and disorders.
While the organization is still relatively new, in years to come it could bring us even
more innovation than Musk himself brings, since it will allow many others to work on
their great ideas when they otherwise might not have been able to.
Clearly, Elon Musk is one busy fella.
Some would argue that he’s already greatly change the world with just those innovations,
but he is far from finished.
So, what does Mr. Musk have planned for years to come?
One particularly exciting project that Musk has been attempting to sort out is the Hyperloop.
This involves a system of tubes through which a pod can travel with minimal friction or
air resistance.
It’s believed that this solar-powered system could allow people to travel up to 800 miles
an hour, even faster than air travel.
This would greatly change the way people travel, at least domestically, and would go a long
way in slashing commute times and emissions.
Unfortunately, many believe this is unlikely to work, but that hasn’t stopped Musk from
continuing to try, even open sourcing it to get as many minds on it as possible.
Furthermore, as a lover of the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, I must take a moment to
mention his idea for a transformable car.
This is a car that can drive on land, and transform to work underwater.
This is probably among the least world-changing of his potential inventions, but it IS the
most James Bond-like of his inventions.
It’s awesome.
Speaking of Bond, Musk’s Electric Jet also has a certain superspy aspect to it.
While work has yet to begin on it, Musk has stated that he hopes to build an electric
supersonic jet that could take-off and land vertically, like a helicopter.
This would allow for much smaller runways, and better optimization of space in airports.
Plus, as with the previous point, it’s awesome.
Another contribution of his will likely be in the work of SolarCity.
SolarCity merged with Tesla Inc in 2016, and Musk plans to use their infrastructure to
make solar energy far more prevalent.
Knowing Musk, this could well prove to take some power away from big oil, and make renewable
energy cheaper, easier, and more effective.
This would, of course, do wonders for the environment, and considering how pressing
climate change is at this time, there isn’t a moment to lose.
That said, one of Musk’s most significant contributions may not be an invention or innovation,
but rather the prevention of certain innovations.
Artificial Intelligence has many scientists and engineers worried about the possibility
of AI taking over the world, and Musk is among those concerned about the future of it.
This could be instrumental in preventing the creation of dangerous AI, should that fear
take form.
And now we return to our question: Will Elon Musk Change the World?
Well, based on the evidence, it’s pretty undeniable that he has changed the world considerably,
and likely will continue to do so.
Even if, God forbid, Musk were to die today, his incredible contributions thus far would
have been enough to let him go down in history.
But with even more exciting projects on the way, not to mention essentially infinite financial
backing, it’s safe to say that the best is yet to come.
While for most people, words are cheap, Elon Musk has a habit of putting his money, and
his brains, where his mouth is.
So many of his proposed plans, if feasible, may well come to fruition, and change the
world a great deal.
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the best of luck, on your quest for answers.
As usual, let’s get one silly response out of the way.
Some pedantic people might point to the butterfly effect and say that EVERYONE changes the world
in some way, so of course Elon Musk would as well.
But let’s set that aside, since it’s pretty pointless, and focus on the obvious meaning
behind the question.
Another of Musk’s more famous contributions is SolarCity.
This is a subsidiary of Tesla, Inc, that manufactures and installs solar panels,