[ngvrnd]

I have this feeling that all of Musk's comnpanies are technology development ventures intended to support his primary goal of getting humans to live off-earth. Note: I am not defending his goal, or idolizing him. But consider: boring company: finance learning about tunnel construction; tunnels needed on moon or mars for habitation; solar cells: very useful on moon or mars; hyperloop: finance learning about vacuum seals and related technology. My explanation makes much more sense for each of these than the ostensible goal of the company. which brings me to the point in Cthulhu's post: tesla is selling cars to understand the techne of energy storage for use in space habs.

[ImPostingOnHN]

there isn't a single product elmu could produce for which a tenuous connection couldn't be imagined

apples? well he's just learning about agriculture, which we will need on Mars

toilets? well, people poop on Mars, too

overpriced AV cables? well, obviously Mars will need high end cables for stuff

[basch]

You would need a lot of the same tech to terraform Earth, or make Earth habitable, if it became unso.