Elon Musk has a long-standing interest in colonizing Mars to make humanity multi-planetary.
His biography, written by Walter Isaacson, reveals that Musk's fascination with Mars colonization dates back to the early days of SpaceX.
SpaceX used to hold weekly meetings called "Mars Coloniser" dedicated to discussing the colonization of Mars and how it would be governed.
Elon Musk's former assistant, Elissa Butterfield, stated that these meetings were Musk's favorite and always put him in a good mood.
SpaceX's primary goal, as described in the book, is to enable humanity to reach Mars.
Musk's childhood exposure to a book on future inventions, including rocket propulsion by ion thrusters, sparked his initial interest in space exploration.
Other books that influenced Musk's fascination with space include "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress," Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" series, and "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
Musk was known for setting tight and sometimes seemingly impossible deadlines for SpaceX employees.
For example, he gave his team only six weeks to prepare a new rocket after the third rocket by Tesla failed, even though previous preparations took 12 and 17 months.