# Elon Musk: SpaceX is about taking the fiction out of science fiction

*CNBC Television* · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pldoOdQ99uM

## Summary

Elon Musk speaks at what appears to be a SpaceX-related event, reflecting on the company's growth from a small warehouse startup in El Segundo to a record-breaking IPO. He explains that he originally gave SpaceX less than a 10% chance of success, but felt it had to be tried so humanity could become a spacefaring civilization. He describes SpaceX's mission as making science fiction real and offering space travel to anyone, not just a few astronauts.

## Key points

- Musk credits Gwynne Shotwell as an incredible partner and one of the first people to join SpaceX.
- SpaceX started in a warehouse in El Segundo and is now going public with the largest IPO ever, according to Musk.
- Musk gave SpaceX less than a 10% chance of succeeding when he founded it.
- He believed a new company was necessary because existing aerospace firms were not pursuing technology to make life multi-planetary.
- SpaceX's mission is to take the fiction out of science fiction and create an inspiring future for everyone.
- Musk says SpaceX wants to take anyone who wants to go to the Moon, Mars, or elsewhere in the solar system, not just a few astronauts.
- He expresses confidence that the SpaceX team will achieve this goal.
- Musk notes there will always be problems on Earth to solve, but people also need things that excite them about the future.

## Notes

### Origins of SpaceX
- Elon Musk recalls SpaceX starting as a "little company" in a warehouse in El Segundo.
- He credits Gwynne Shotwell as an incredible partner and one of the first people to join the company.
- He marvels that the company is now going public with what he calls the largest IPO ever.

### Early Odds of Failure
- Musk says he gave SpaceX less than a 10% chance of succeeding at all.
- He told people the company was probably going to fail, but argued it should still be tried.
- His reasoning: without a new company entering space, humanity would never become a truly spacefaring civilization.

### The Mission
- Musk says existing aerospace companies built rockets but were not pursuing the technology needed to make life multi-planetary.
- SpaceX's purpose is to "take the fiction out of science fiction" and make the exciting futures people have read about real.
- The goal is to take anyone who wants to go to the Moon, Mars, or anywhere in the solar system — and maybe beyond — not just a few astronauts.
- Musk directly addresses viewers: SpaceX wants to take *you* to the Moon and Mars.

### Confidence and Outlook
- Musk says he is now confident the SpaceX team will accomplish this.
- He acknowledges there will always be problems on Earth that should be solved, but people also need things that excite them about the future.

## Transcript

[00:00] BASED? I THINK WE'VE GOT ELON ABOUT TO SPEAK. CARL FROM YEAH, FROM TEXAS. I HEAR THE APPLAUSE BUILDING.

[00:59] Well, >> WELL THANK YOU. GWEN GWYNNE SHOTWELL HAS BEEN AN INCREDIBLE PARTNER AND WAS ONE OF THE FIRST PEOPLE TO JOIN THE COMPANY. AND. SO THANK YOU. GWEN. OH, SHE'S IN NEW YORK, OF COURSE. WHERE IS SHE? AND YEAH, IT IS CERTAINLY HARD TO BELIEVE THAT LITTLE COMPANY THAT STARTED IN A WAREHOUSE IN EL SEGUNDO IS NOW. IS NOW, IS NOW GOING PUBLIC FOR THE WITH THE LARGEST IPO THAT EVER. AND LET ME TELL YOU, IF PEOPLE HAD TOLD ME THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN, I WAS LIKE, MAN, YOU MUST BE SMOKING SOME REALLY GOOD CRACK BECAUSE I THINK THIS COMPANY IS GOING TO FAIL. I MEAN, I GAVE, I GAVE, I GAVE SPACEX LESS THAN A 10% CHANCE OF SUCCEEDING AT ALL, TO BE CLEAR. IN FACT, I TOLD PEOPLE THIS. I SAID, LOOK, WE'RE PROBABLY GOING TO FAIL,

[02:18] BUT, YOU KNOW, WE SHOULD GIVE IT A TRY BECAUSE IF WE DON'T, IF IF THERE'S NOT A NEW COMPANY THAT ENTERS SPACE, WE WILL NEVER BE A TRULY SPACEFARING CIVILIZATION. YOU KNOW, WHILE THE THE OTHER AEROSPACE COMPANIES, THEY BUILD ROCKETS AND EVERYTHING. THEY THEY WERE SIMPLY NOT PURSUING THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WAS NECESSARY TO MAKE LIFE MULTI-PLANETARY TO. TO MAKE TO MAKE STAR TREK, TO MAKE. THE THE EXCITING SCIENCE FICTION FUTURES THAT WE'VE READ ABOUT REAL. AND THAT'S WHAT SPACEX IS ALL ABOUT, IS TO TAKE THE FICTION OUT OF SCIENCE FICTION AND CREATE AN EXCITING, INSPIRING FUTURE FOR EVERYONE. WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO TAKE ANYONE WHO WANTS TO GO TO THE MOON, ANYONE WHO WANTS TO GO TO MARS, OR ANYONE IN THE SOLAR

[03:09] SYSTEM, AND MAYBE BEYOND THE SOLAR SYSTEM. AT SOME POINT, WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO TAKE YOU THERE. NOT NOT JUST NOT JUST A FEW ASTRONAUTS. I MEAN, YOU LITERALLY YOU, IF YOU WATCH WHOEVER YOU ARE WATCHING THIS, SPACEX WANTS TO BE ABLE TO TAKE YOU TO THE MOON, TAKE YOU TO MARS, AND ULTIMATELY BEYOND. AND, AND I, I'M CONFIDENT AT THIS POINT THAT WITH THE INCREDIBLE TEAM THAT WE HAVE HERE AT SPACEX, THAT WE WILL DO THAT FOR YOU.

[04:13] I always think about ABOUT THIS. THERE ARE THERE ARE ALWAYS PROBLEMS ON EARTH. THERE ARE ALWAYS PROBLEMS ON EARTH. THERE ARE ALWAYS THINGS THAT WE WISH TO BE BETTER THAT WE WANT TO SOLVE HERE ON EARTH, AND WE SHOULD SOLVE THEM. BUT, BUT THEY ALSO HAVE TO BE THINGS THAT GET YOU EXCITED ABOUT THE FUTURE, THA