“I want to be clear: I'm not trying to be anyone's savior. I'm just trying to think about the future and not be sad... There have to be reasons that you get up in the morning and you want to live. Why do you want to live? What's the point? What inspires you? What do you love about the future? If the future does not include being out there among the stars and being a multi-planet species, I find that incredibly depressing,” an insightful quote by Elon Musk, CEO and Founder of Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink and The Boring Company.

He argued that while solving terrestrial problems is necessary, humanity also needs a deeper sense of purpose and adventure to look forward to the future.

Who is Elon Musk 

Elon Musk is a prominent billionaire entrepreneur, engineer, and tech mogul best known for founding and leading groundbreaking companies in space exploration, electric vehicles, and artificial intelligence. Beyond electric cars and rockets, his current focus spans a massive empire of cutting-edge industries, including his brain-computer interface firm Neuralink, tunnel-construction business The Boring Company, and his generative AI startup xAI. 

Musk consistently ranks as the wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth tracking between $728 billion and $839 billion according to real-time billionaire indexes from Forbes and Bloomberg. This historic level of personal wealth is primarily anchored in his significant equity stakes in Tesla and SpaceX. It has been supercharged by a massive 2026 industrial ecosystem merger with his generative AI startup, xAI.

Musk’s technical, aerospace, and business leadership has earned him some of the highest distinct honors in science and industry. He is an elected fellow of the Royal Society and a peer-elected member of the National Academy of Engineering. His work in rocketry has won him prestigious aerospace accolades like the FAI Gold Space Medal and the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication.

When was this quote said by Elon Musk

Elon Musk made this statement during his interview with Chris Anderson at the TED2017 conference, which took place in Vancouver, Canada, on April 28, 2017. During the conversation about the future of humanity and space exploration, he explained his motivation for establishing a human settlement on Mars, emphasizing the importance of an inspiring vision for humanity.. 

What does this quote mean? 

Musk explains that true human motivation requires exciting, grand milestones that give people a sense of wonder and a reason to look forward to tomorrow. He explicitly rejects the label of a "savior," clarifying that his grand ventures come from a personal desire for a hopeful future, not an ego-driven rescue mission.

Driven by a philosophy that humanity must expand its technological boundaries to survive, he continues to push for the colonisation of Mars and the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence.

Published on: May 31, 2026 7:30 AM IST