Elon Musk wants to leave his mark on the world.
He wants to go down in history as one of the greatest innovators the world has ever known. The fame of the serial entrepreneur is universal.
He became a global CEO last year, revered around the world by millions who see him as a genius. For many populations, he also provided a window of freedom via Starlink, the satellite internet access service developed by SpaceX, one of his five companies.
At the same time, Musk remains a divisive personality in the United States. Critics -- and there are many among progressives -- see him as a capricious billionaire. His defense of free speech, for instance, is mocked by his critics who are surprised that he, who claims to be against censorship, does not often hesitate to banish from Twitter those who dare to criticize him.
Twitter, which has been owned by Musk since October, on June 14 suspended the accounts of PlainSite, an online database which makes state and federal court filings and other public records available to users for free, and its founder Aaron Greenspan. The latter is a staunch Musk and Tesla (TSLA) critic. The electric vehicle maker is the crown jewel of Musk's empire.
'Light of Consciousness'
This suspension, which is the latest, shows, say the billionaire's critics, that he does not tolerate contradiction. They conclude that he has dictatorial and authoritarian inclinations.
These hiccups have in no way dented Musk's growing fame, as evidenced by his recent visit to Europe, where he was welcomed everywhere he went - Italy, France - as a hero. The tech mogul took the opportunity to send a powerful message to the world.
In this message, Musk has chosen to inspire people across the planet, give them optimism and the desire to surpass themselves. The message has two parts. In the first part, the entrepreneur calls on humans to expand the light of human consciousness, because they are the only ones on this galaxy despite theories about extraterrestrials.
"People do ask me, you know, have I seen UFOs and aliens and that kind of thing? And I haven't, and I think I would have seen them by now," Musk said on June 16 at Viva Tech. "So, it appears that we might be the only consciousness at least in this galaxy."
"If so, that's kind of a scary prospect because it means that the light of consciousness is like a tiny candle in a vast darkness. And we should do everything we can to prevent that candle from going out."
Keeping that candle alive is about protecting the planet, said Musk, who has already promised a sustainable energy economy. He also calls for conquering other planets to spread human life beyond the earth.
"That means, obviously, taking the actions to ensure that Earth is good; that Earth is safe and secure for civilization," the billionaire said, adding "it also means extending life beyond Earth to other planets in the solar system and ultimately to other star systems. And I think that both are sort of defense of the light of consciousness."
The Moon
He then wanted to be inspirational, calling on the world to dream, to celebrate life, to inject optimism into our daily lives.
"Life cannot just be about solving one problem after another. We need things that inspire us. I mean, we need things that move our hearts; and that when you wake up in the morning, you're excited to be alive."
He went so far as to call for doing the things that we deem impossible.
"Making true the things that we see in the good science fiction movies. This is one of the things that I think can inspire all of humanity," said Musk, whose net wealth is valued at $233 billion as of June 16, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
"When the astronauts went to the moon in 69, it was something that they said [was] for all mankind," he continued, saying it was the "most amazing thing that humanity has ever done."
"You want to have these inspiring things that make you excited to be alive and excited about the future," he concluded.
The billionaire and his company SpaceX have promised to conquer the planet Mars in our time. They built Starship, the system that is supposed to make that dream come true.
Starship made its first orbital flight attempt on April 20, but it ended in an explosion minutes after launch. Another attempt is planned within six to eight weeks, the Techno King, as Musk is known at Tesla, recently indicated.
