Lacey(@LaceyPresley):Mars does not become real when we prove we can reach it once. It becomes real when we reduce the cost per ton enough to build a self-sustaining city. That is the fundamental optimization behind Starship: minimizing the cost of delivering mass first to orbit, then to the surface of Mars. As Elon Musk explains: “There is a certain cost per ton to the surface of Mars where we can afford to establish a self-sustaining city. Above that, we cannot afford to do it.” Right now, you could offer a trillion dollars for a ticket to Mars and no one could sell you one. Starship is being engineered to change Mars from something money cannot buy into something civilization can repeatedly build.

2026.08.26 20:49

Mars does not become real when we prove we can reach it once. It becomes real when we reduce the cost per ton enough to build a self-sustaining city. That is the fundamental optimization behind Starship: minimizing the cost of delivering mass first to orbit, then to the surface of Mars. As Elon Musk explains: “There is a certain cost per ton to the surface of Mars where we can afford to establish a self-sustaining city. Above that, we cannot afford to do it.” Right now, you could offer a trillion dollars for a ticket to Mars and no one could sell you one. Starship is being engineered to change Mars from something money cannot buy into something civilization can repeatedly build.