[btilly]

Elon has done back of the envelope calculations and believes that Mars colonization can be profitable at a cost of around a half-million per ticket, with a free return for anyone who decides they want out.

At that price point, moving to Mars is something you can fund by selling your house. If enough people want to do it, he could make a lot of money that way. In addition to going down in history.

If he is wrong, well, it is his money. And every step along the way to building that capacity can be justified by ventures that are making money now.

[toomuchtodo]

If you invest $5K USD each year in an equities-heavy index fund, with compound interest and average market returns, you'll have your Mars ticket in ~25 years. Additional funds invested each year speed that up.