I think he's just asking himself how far he can take this. I mean, why not? He's already cemented his legacy. Most inventors tend to come up with hundreds, even thousands of ideas before stumbling upon one that works (and even then, some never do), much less revolutionizes multiple industries and alters the course of human history.
I don't know...I'm not terribly convinced that a shoddy electric car, a tunnel company that sells merch and doesn't actually dig tunnels, and a car in space is all that revolutionary.
Well... he's going to beat NASA to landing a man on Mars.... and they had over a 60 year head start... and he's going to do it WAY cheaper.
Once the BFR is developed, NASA will be totally out of the "building rockets" part.. they'll just contract SpaceX when they need to send up an exploratory vehicle. By the time NASA is done developing the SLS, the BFR will probably be in testing; and it has roughly x3 the payload tonnage with far more cubic meters of space for whatever object you want to send up. The SLS's justification was it could put bigger habitats in orbit around the Moon. The BFR can do that and so much more.
It will be cool though when NASA is building MUCH larger rovers (instead of rockets) with far more capabilities to fit on the BFR. Not just sending one rover astronauts can drive around on the moon, but 10-12 in one launch.. with everything needed to take care of maintenance, AND supplies for anyone on the lunar surface.
Part 2: Think of it along the lines of the Spanish Monarchy (gov't) vs Christopher Columbus and explores after (Musk). Columbus was a merchant. He did what he did for money.... and I guess glory trying to prove an already known thought and failing at it, but accidentally reminding the western world of the time about, but w/e.
You gotta be fair to NASA they've had their funding almost continuously cut. Have a supervisory board of elected politicians that generally have zero understanding of what it is they can do or need.
Once the BFR is developed, NASA will be totally out of the "building rockets" part.. they'll just contract SpaceX when they need to send up an exploratory vehicle. By the time NASA is done developing the SLS, the BFR will probably be in testing; and it has roughly x3 the payload tonnage with far more cubic meters of space for whatever object you want to send up. The SLS's justification was it could put bigger habitats in orbit around the Moon. The BFR can do that and so much more.
It will be cool though when NASA is building MUCH larger rovers (instead of rockets) with far more capabilities to fit on the BFR. Not just sending one rover astronauts can drive around on the moon, but 10-12 in one launch.. with everything needed to take care of maintenance, AND supplies for anyone on the lunar surface.