The Verge:

[…]Musk says that he's fighting to colonize Mars not for aspirational purposes or advances in R&D that could be used here on earth, but because he feels he must do all he can to keep the flame of humanity alive. "I think we have a duty to maintain the light of consciousness, to make sure it continues into the future," he says, adding that he thinks the reason we haven't found other intelligent species might be because there "are a whole lot of dead, one-planet civilizations" strewn across the universe.

One of the smartest guys on the planet believes that we should colonize Mars as a way of preserving the human race. With the way we're destroying our own planet, it would be hard to argue that we're seriously limiting our future on Earth and need to start thinking of a plan B. I'd love to have a beer with Musk and pick his brain on this one.

I said earlier today that Tesla is one of my two favourite companies, and Musk is obviously a big part of that. His vision is about bettering the world and humanity, and his companies actively work toward those goals. The most advanced electric cars in the world and private space travel are two steps in the right direction for the environment and humanity.