‘Super Villain’ Elon Musk Wants To Nuke Mars To Make It Habitable For Humans

Elon Musk surprised the audience of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last night when he suggested that one way to prepare Mars for habitation could be to drop nukes on it. Musk, who is the founder of Tesla, SpaceX and other companies pushing the technology envelope, was discussing the possibility of warming Mars to convert it from the cold, barren planet that it is to something more hospitable.

When it comes to warming Mars, “There’s a fast way and a slow way,” Musk said shortly after he referred to Mars as a “fixer-upper of a planet.”

Not surprisingly, Colbert asked for the fast way. “The fast way is drop thermonuclear weapons over the poles.” They never got around to the alternative, though Musk has discussed it on other panels in the past. The slower method would make use of greenhouse gases to warm the planet. 

Earlier in the conversation, Colbert suggested that Elon Musk might be a super hero, noting “You have your finger in so many different advanced technologies, as I said: SpaceX, Tesla, now you’ve got SolarCity and the solar pack that people put on their houses – are you sincerely trying to save the world?” When Musk hedged, Colbert responded, “You’re either a superhero or a supervillain. You have to choose one.”
Once Musk suggested nuking Mars, Colbert was ready to make the call. “You’re a supervillain,” Colbert said, to laughter from the audience. “That’s what a supervillain does.”