The Pros And Cons Of Space Exploration

In June 2002, he founds Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX. Elon had long been fascinated by the possibility of life on Mars as a member of the Mars Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging exploration of the red planet. He was intrigued by the opportunity of colonizing Mars, launching ‘Mars Oasis’, a project with a goal of creating automated greenhouses, which in the future could have become a basis for a self-sustaining ecosystem. This, he hoped, would rekindle faded public interest in space exploration. The main issue was the enormous delivery costs, mainly the rocket at $15 million or more. He even tried buying refurbished ICBMs from Russia, but never struck a solid deal. Musk, taking a huge risk, decided he would

Tesla was founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, a pair of engineers, who funded the company until the first round of funding in 2004. From the very beginning, Tesla positioned itself as the first true manufacturer of electric vehicles - Musk supported such ambitions, coming in as a leading investor and putting $40 million into the car company. He joins the board as chairman and product architect, splitting his time between SpaceX and Tesla. Tesla’s first car, the Roadster, a sports car based on the British Lotus Elise, began development. By 2006, the project had made it into the newspapers and Musk received the Global Green product design award. The company continued to grow with an increasing number of investors including Larry Page and Sergey Brin, founders of Google. Unfortunately, shortly before the Roadster entered production, a streak of bad luck began for Musk. Some management failures led to the car being almost twice the price as originally anticipated, at $92,000. During this crisis, Elon took control, firing everyone who stalled the projects development, including Eberhard. Shortly after this, Tarpenning also leaves. In 2008, the Roadster is finally released, having a range of 245 miles (394 km), a number unprecedented for a production electric vehicle, and doing 0-60 mph in less than four seconds. It showed that an electric car could be fast and sporty, good-looking, and efficient at the same time - contrary to public stereotypes. The main reason for Tesla’s success, however, is the Tesla Model S, a premium electric sedan with a range of 265 miles (426 km). Production of the Model S began in June 2012, with an MSRP of $70,000. Consumer Reports rated the car a 99 out of 100 and it achieved the highest safety rating ever on any vehicle, partly thanks to its floor-mounted battery giving it a low center of gravity. To charge its cars, Tesla built stations called