Some would say the point of full Democracy is to provide incentive for the elites to contribute to the health, education, happiness, and competence of the overall population.
Of course it’s easier to just give up on uplifting the peasants, but that isn’t a choice the constitution provides us.
Just a random thought; if I had a bazillion dollars, I’d consider founding a company to compete with each of Elon’s and name it Biko.
I like the cut of your jib, sir.
Electrek’s Frank Lambert has dumped his Tesla holdings. Can’t really argue with much of his reasoning.
Indeed. I still have my 2014 MS P85+ though.
Mic drop.
Random Derek appearances are one reason I’ll always be at Qt3. 
May I add rotflmfao?
I vote we stake send Space Karen first!
Isn’t there kinda a big step from launching shit to Mars that allow a few people to survive as material keeps coming in from Earth to a self sustaining colony?
I’ve been assured repeatedly that Apartheid Clyde is a world-historical genius, so I’m sure he’s already taken account of all that.
I could completely see him finding a few zealots and sending them on a one way trip to Mars, where their either die on the way, or die shortly after they reach the surface.
Ground control to MAGA Tom…
“Well, just hang in there for another year and a half and we can send some supplies when the orbits align.”
There are about a hundred steps to even the part where we get humans there alive in the first place.
As to self sustaining colonies, “ROFLMAO” is really something of an understatement. You know where it would be about 1000X easier to set up a self-sustaining colony than on Mars? Antarctica. The ocean floor. Literally any overtly hostile, uninhabited region of Earth. There’s a reason no one’s done any of that.
I’m pretty sure I saw a guy do it once with some potatoes.
Jesus fucking christ:
People ask stupid ass-questions.
Oh dear. You mean to tell me that all the stuff Kim Stanley Robinson wrote is not part of our historical record?
Just shipping the supplies to make a rudimentary base is a process that would take decades.
And you probably can’t use concrete because it will suffocate everyone. Also imagine shipping several millions of tons of just building materials.
The cost to get 10,000 tons of material into orbit would be roughly $25 billion dollars. That’s orbit and unlikely to be anywhere near the materials needed for a single foundational structure, much less a city. There are no concrete plants on Mars. How much limestone is there on Mars? Oh right, literally zero.
That space elevator accident certainly felt real to me.
(I loved the hell out of that trilogy.)