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Comment by twtw | Hacker News Reader

"most people miss" that because that isn't what he says he is trying to do. Musk has said on several occasions that he is trying to fix some of the earth's problems.

By all means, speculate on Elon Musk's hidden psyche, but don't expect everyone to agree when the man himself says something different.

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I could agree with some of it. But he’s also said many times that he feels the only way to keep humans from going extinct is to make humanity a multi-planetary species, so while he maybe trying to fix some things his pretty clearly stated goal is to get humans off this rock permanently.

http://earthsky.org/space/elon-musk-mars-manifesto-humans-mu...

> multi-planetary species

...That means fix Earth too. We / he certainly doesn't want to trade Earth for Mars. Mars is just a good place to store a backup of humanity.

I read the Wait But Why series about Musk where the author had a lot of one-on-one time with Musk, and he basically said that's what's going on. It's just too complicated for twitter, that's why he doesn't talk about it there.

Musk isn't limited to Twitter. ;) There are many good long-form videos (interviews, lectures, Q&As) on youtube. An oldie but a goodie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uegOUmgKB4E

If you think Musk doesn't care about Earth problems, check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKCuDxpccYM

Wait But Why is certainly popular, but it's not good at delimiting where Elon Musk's words end and Tim Urban's speculation begins. I also found oversimplifications and even downright inaccuracies. I'd recommend treating it as an introduction to Elon Musk's thinking, not as some final revelation.

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