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Elon Musk’s wants to change your future Elon Musk likes big challenges. The South-African born entrepreneur has studied physics and business, and he knows a lot about rocket science. Musk has used this knowledge to build and sell several companies. He has been in the news for designing a train that floats on air and developing an electric car that gets energy from solar panels in the roof. His latest plan is to help send humans to Mars. Through his businesses, Musk is changing industries and making himself rich, but is it good for the rest of us?To understand what Musk is planning, it helps to learn about his goals. In an interview on TED, a website with videos about technology, education and design, Musk made a simple statement that helps people understand his motivation. “What are the things that need to happen in order for the future to be an exciting and inspiring one?” Musk has identified two: One, we need to focus on sustainability, and, two, we need to visit other planets.Right now, Musk has three projects that fit his goals. The first is a plan to help people shift to solar energy. Musk is worried about the environmental damage caused by our dependence on oil and gas. His solution is to get most of our energy from the sun. His company, Solar City, is speeding up the process by providing solar panels to homes and businesses. Musk knows that Solar panels are expensive, so customers can buy or rent the panels. If they rent them, they can pay over time. The solar panels will also lower their electricity bill because they do not have to buy electricity from traditional power companies. More recently, he has begun work on a new type of roof that creates solar power. The roof is attractice, beautiful, and can power a home all at once. Engergy companies are worried about the success of solar. They complain about the competition, and they worry about the future of traditional forms of energy, but customers like the choice. They pay less, and they can help the environment. Musk is also upsetting the automobile industry. His company, Tesla, is named after an early innovator named Nikoli Tesla. Tesla did early experiments on electricity, and Musk is using the inventor’s name to sell electric cars. This is not a new idea. Many companies make electric cars, but the Tesla is a luxury electric car. It has a beautiful design; it is comfortable to drive, and it can reach high speeds quickly. But the Tesla cars are more than beautiful. They are changing the automotive industry with a continual updates. The next generation of Teslas may have solar panels in the roof and right now, the cars are also testing driverless technologies. They can park themselves, change lanes, and even come when called. The cars do not drive themselves completely yet, but they are on the roads all over the world. Like with any car, however, accidents happen. A Tesla owner was using his car’s driverless technology when the car made a terrible mistake. A truck pulled in front of the car. The truck was the same color as the sky, and the car’s sensors did not see it. The car crashed into the truck and killed the driver. Many people blamed Musk, but he said driverless technology prevents more accidents than human driver. It just needs to be improved.Musk’s ambition to change transportation goes further. While waiting in traffic one day, he had an idea for a completely new technology. Musk’s design is called a Hyperloop. The Hyperloop is a like a train, but it does not use oil or natural gas or even electricity. Instead, the Hyperloop uses magnets. The train floats over the magnets at speeds of up to 700 miles per hour. The Hyperloop was an interesting solution to a real problem, but it needed a lot of work. Musk gave the design to the public. Now other innovators can work on the design, and it may be built. The United Arab Emirates is planning to build a Hyperloop between Dubai and a nearby Emirate called Fujairah.Musk did not stop with the hyperloop. He went on to create the Boring Company. Boring usually means not interesting, but it can also mean digging a hole. The Boring Company is about building tunnels under cities. Special elevators can bring cars into these tunnels and they can travel more quickly in and between cities. Musk’s biggest project is the most challenging and may change human history. Musk believes that humans need to be a multi-planet species, and Mars is the closest possible planet, so he created SpaceX. SpaceX is a company with the mission of sending humans to live on Mars. SpaceX is special because it is the first private company to send a rocket into space. SpaceX is also the first company to work with International governments to bring supplies and equipment to the International Space Station (ISS). Soon, SpaceX rockets will bring astronauts into space. Typically for Musk, however, his rockets are different from traditional rockets. Musk was bothered by the fact that governments were spending a lot of money on rockets. They built them and only used them one time. Musk set a goal. He told his engineers and scientists to build a rocket that could take a ship into space then return to earth and land safely. The public watched as SpaceX began the project. There was much discussion because SpaceX had funding from NASA, the U.S. government space agency. Some people thought Musk’s idea was foolish and he was wasting taxpayer’s money. Others trusted Musk. If his idea worked, it could reduce the cost of going into space. As the project progressed, SpaceX had some successes but also failures. In 2008, a SpaceX rocket exploded in space.Then in 2015, the employees of SpaceX gathered to watch the first landing of the reusable rocket. They were nervous because they knew the world was watching, and the future of SpaceX depended on success. The room was quiet as the Falcon9 rocket appeared on the screen. It was pointing upright. That was good. Next the arms for supporting the rocket unfolded. That was good too. Then it slowly came to rest on the ground. The rocket had landed. Suddenly everyone cheered. SpaceX had built a rocket that could be used again.For Musk the Falcon9 landing brought the company one step closer to his dream. If he could improve flights to the International Space Station, he might be able to do the same on a distant planet. He has set a target date for putting a human on Mars in the year 2024. Sure, there will be a few problems to solve between now and then, but Elon Musk loves to solve problems. DiscussionIn your opinion, is Elon Musk a hero or simply a business man? ................
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