Elon Musk news: Tesla CEO reveals reasons for sending a car into space

Elon Musk is planning to open a retro-style car restaurant in Los Angeles, California.SpaceX

Elon Musk reveals some method to his madness when he launched a car into space straight to the planet Mars, as scientists question his decision and reasoning behind the expensive stunt.

Musk took to Twitter to further expound on why he launched his Tesla car into space despite it being somewhat of a needless and excessive project. Apparently, he wanted to inspire people, perhaps about space travel and a new frontier for mankind such as Mars, hence his launching of an expensive Tesla car into space toward the red planet.

"Life cannot just be about solving one sad problem after another. There need to be things that inspire you, that make you glad to wake up in the morning and be part of humanity. That is why we did it. We did for you," said Musk, suggesting that what he did was for an inspirational and noble cause for other people. Musk stated that what he did was "something new in space" and believes that it would get people excited about space travel.

As to why he chose a car specifically, and not some other objects that would be of use to other space travel institutions remains unanswered. Regardless, it seems the Mars-bound Tesla car floating in space right now is just the start of Musk's ambitions for the planet and for space, as Musk's SpaceX program is set to launch its first rocket (thankfully not a car) to Mars by next year.

With this in mind, Musk is intent on colonizing Mars because he thinks astronomy and aerospace engineering is progressing too slowly for his taste. That is why he plans to take matters into his own hands. Other than that, he also fears that a third World War or the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) could somehow cause the extinction of humanity. These are apparently factors that drive Musk to rush into Mars.

Whether Musk is driven by science-fiction tropes, his ego or just simply does not have any other use for his money on Earth, the tech billionaire genius is on his way to fulfill his grand ambitions, assuming his ventures survive.