Several issues.
First, Musk has to actually prove he can get there
Second, Prove he can get there quickly, reliably and with large payloads
Third, Establish a safe presence on the ground leading to self-sufficiency
Forth, IF he can do the above, the new colony will have to survive it’s communist charter, throw it away and set up a capitalist system - same as when the Pilgrim’s arrived in the US - started commie, most people died, switched to capitalism and then thrived.
“...Pilgrim’s arrived...”
Psssst.... Don’t look now, but your apostrophe is hanging out.
In spite of the movie, “The Martian”, man is not optimized for life on Mars or on any planet other than Earth. Years of adaptation to the environment on Earth have guaranteed that.
Life on another planet will not work, for many reasons, not the least of which will be missing green grass, blue skies, soft breeze, rain, snow, lush fields of wheat. Get it?
Colonizing Mars will be a crime against the children who will be conceived there. It will deprive those children of their terrestrial heritage and force them to live in an alien environment.
No one has the right to do that, but in a world where abortion gets protected by the law, I know danmed well that those children will not be given a choice.
Yup.
And he’s well along on those.