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Ironically you can’t talk about either cislunar or cis-Martian space on Twitter, because it auto flags any post with cis in it (as a slur 🙄)

What's going to happen to all the "Occupy Mars" t-shirts Musk wears everywhere?

yeah it's frustrating because Ars has a lot of really good tech writers generally. they'll even write articles on Musk that are far more realistic and level headed.

Stephen Clark is there too and so far hasn’t succumbed to the same way of thinking, but he rarely gets a look in with SpaceX stories.

I just assumed this was an advertorial from Reliant energy since they seem to be fine finding Eric. Maybe they'll partner with CenterPoint for a "White Linen Power Party Night" for the summer.

Eric better buckle up Probably only a matter of time til he shifts from his "Moon Base City" to just some sort of ranch in Texas

😂😂😂 right...

This part is particularly amusing given that the SpaceX defenders love to go on about how competent Shotwell is when it turns out she's, at best, delusional just like Musk.

Eric's coping is disappointing too, because he would rather do the mental gymnastics to make Elon a great guy instead of admitting he's a con-artist Carnie who lied his way into suits. Same level of ride safety, drug use, and unsafe to leave kids around.

Untrue. Joe Pesci is not in the Martian.

Trump's con makes more sense than Elon's. Trump has some weird charisma that makes him likable for some reason. Elon is borderline repulsive in almost every way. How did people ever buy his bs let alone still in 2026?

My gawd the stupidity is killing all of us!!!

Musk makes it himself wearing overalls in a shed out back!

Musk has failed to produce anything new in years with the exception of the Cybertruck which is a disaster. He keeps having a new fantasy which will be the next great thing but they never happen. His latest is robots.

Yeah maybe we can figure out how to consistently repair our bridges and feed children first

you know it must be real dedication! (this is what I mean about Berger's entertainment value)

Life on Mars was possible, as shown by BBC One in 2006.

LOL/NOT-LOL

When you think about all the wealth Musk has misallocated - away from established valid institutions towards himself and his various ideas that don't pan out - Musk's net contribution starts to look like a terrible setback to Western esp US civilization.

the Moon is protected by International Treaty, like Antarctica (no one can go up there and 'claim' it-- well, at least in theory). Mars, as far as I know, does not. Ii've often wondered if THAT is why Musk wanted to go straight to Mars. He wants to go there and declare himself Emperor or something

it sure should

mOdEsTLy WeALtHy

He was always a con man. He never designed or built anything - except the design of the cyber truck. His products were always hyped for more than they were - idiots believed because he had money - just as idiots believed Trump.

"He just wants to help humanity! ... Which is why a bunch of average people had to crowdfund millions of £ for research into curing pancreatic cancer and Musk donated literally nothing to it."

Not to mention a fake video-game player. How this didn't destroy Lone Skum forever with his incel base is beyond me. www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLys...

Yeah, unfortunately you can’t read any article about Musk on Ars Technica seriously. He really ought to be replaced at this point.

Neither Falcon nor Starlink are "great" though. Falcon is becoming increasingly sloppy and Starlink is a money pit for the company despite its revenue, which isn't great when you have another self inflicted money pit (Starship).

I mean.... they weren't going to mars. Now they're not going to the moon. Easy pivot.

It is increasingly hard to be a Musk fluffer. For those high on bullshit promises of off world colonies, the comedown is always harsh. They have to struggle with not only being lied to, but the fact that the rest of us saw through flimflam so much earlier.

Eric right now.

Let’s see the French arrest him for CSAM on the moon! Brilliant! Line go up! What a visionary! bsky.app/profile/tibo...

The good news is that all those occupy Mars tshirts are collectors items now, I guess

the only city elon will ever build is the settlement in texas for women that mothered his children. the artemis program is too complicated and doomed to fail. and there is no moon lander. starship will never be safe for humans. it’s all talk.

Sunk cost fallacy is a hell of a drug. Nothing hurts worse than having to acknowledge the man you lionized is a dullard who fooled you and that you wasted your life. That day Musk shits his pants on stage and belts out "it's satire!' will be ugly for a lot of folks.

«But the reality is that the Moon has reliable stores of oxygen and silicon» Also aluminium, but that's an interesting use of the word reliable. It's 100% true they're there, they're just literally rocks

The cult will apply it to every one Elon’s outlandish pronouncements

“Jolting but practical”. 🤣 🤡

He’s changing his focus because he is taking SpaceX public. He’s a grifter. And a troglodyte.

He’s a loyal cult leader. So is ARS.

Monorails work better on the moon, mars dust is too abrasive but moon dust, that's the grease!

Given Musk's track record, the Moon and Mars might as well be equidistant.

Moon City would be great as part of the Network State though. Don't even have to buy off the local sovereign (eg Honduras) to create a totally unregulated crypto community. Moonsteading!

That needs the SlowMo brain explodo treatment at 10K fps

You mean the guy who said we would already be on mars by now changed his mind? The same dude who said he would end world hunger is a sheister? Say it ain’t so!

Musk realized he could not jump high enough to get to Mars

"for all of Blue Origin’s promise with a slimmed down lunar lander, Starship offers a promising avenue to return humans to the Moon in the near term." still hitting all the right Fanboy Notes...🤷‍♂️

My favorite comment on that article (which by the way, the comments section is pretty much wall-to-wall “Erik, you fatuous fool” type commentary):

He is 100% thinking about US Government subsidies (for moon "defense") to keep his ponzi scheme going.

Musk is good at blowing stuff up

@edlevitas.bsky.social

I read a comment about Spacex going public. Now this makes the xai deal make even more sense. Sell dreams of moon cities AND incredible AI to a bunch of investors and rake in cash.

More like ARSE technica amirite

I think we should bully him onto one of space-x’s explodey rockets and send him off towards mars 🤷‍♂️

His spaceship to take people to Mars or the moon can’t even get out of low earth orbit.

Space X-Crement 🚀 💩

Eric Berger (Journalist?) is trying for a job with Guardian ffs Raniere's organization, NXIVM was more like a cult. Raniere was known as "Vanguard" and revered as "the smartest man in the world" among followers, but was actually a creepy con man who barely got passing grades in college. Musk to a T

This would seem to be the correct answer. Bezos has finally managed to get Blue Origin moving with some alacrity and this has influenced EM to pivot away from his initial Mars 1st advocacy.

I’m more of the opinion that a mix of government dysfunction and the fact that the most vital contractor is well, spacex that its going to just not happen for a variety of reasons related to those two things.

They might build something called starship but diminished from the original specs

It’s just confusing because all of their cgi animations show a stubby little starship landing on the Moon.

He can't even get potholes fixed on planet Earth's roads. Why would I trust him with maintaining oxygen levels on the moon?

Dude wants slaves so bad he needs to go to outer space for them

“Why would he do this??” Berger asks of the man who’s Always Doing This, more at 11

"why would..." Umm, because of present obligations instead of future ideals supported by CGI?