Tesla CEO Elon Musk has once again ignited the Mars discussion with a viral post on February 12. With more than 46 million views, the post features a futuristic one-minute, 12-second AI-generated video showcasing an advanced Martian environment, igniting curiosity and debate across social media. Musk has simply captioned the post “Welcome to Mars”.
Take a look at Elon Musk’s viral post here
The video showcases a futuristic cityscape, featuring large, sleek spaceships hovering above a city with towering structures. The design of the city and spacecraft suggests advanced technology and infrastructure, aligning with Elon Musk’s vision for Mars colonization as mentioned in his plans to send unmanned spacecraft to Mars in 2025. The setting also includes a massive planet, likely Earth, visible in the sky, adding to the interplanetary theme.
Elon Musk’s 2016 prediction resurfaces
Musk’s “Welcome to Mars” video comes nearly a decade later after Musk’s bold mars prediction in 2016. Speaking on stage at Recode’s Code Conference, Elon Musk then outlined his ambitious vision for human colonization of Mars. “If things go according to plan, we should be able to launch people probably in 2024 with arrival in 2025,” he said, capturing the audience’s imagination with his bold timeline.
Musk also shared his thoughts on how governance might work on the Red Planet. When asked about establishing law and government on Mars, he proposed that a direct democracy would be the most effective system. “I think that’s better because the potential for corruption is substantially diminished in a direct versus representative democracy,” Musk explained.
Social media reactions
After the post went viral, people on the internet shared various opinions. Some were curious about what the first Martian city might be named and how culture could develop on a new planet. “What will the first city on Mars be called?,” asked a user. “Will Mars have breathable atmosphere?,” questioned another.
Others pointed out design issues, noting the lack of trees and natural greenery in the visuals.
“Where are the trees, the green spaces, the rivers, oceans, anything other than human/machine made structures? This is so very disappointing. Can we at least get a version that is a bit closer to our Earth based home?,” wrote one user. “That looks depressing. Where are the trees?,” said another.”Can humans really thrive in this man-made environment with no nature? I don’t want to crush your dreams @elonmusk, but I wouldn’t want to live there,” commented another.