Elon Musk has denied a New York Times report suggesting he had volunteered his sperm to help seed a colony on Mars.
The July 11 report suggested that Musk had quietly directed his team to begin planning an off-world habitat that could survive Mars’ hostile environment.
One team is looking at plans for “small dome habitats,” including materials that could be used to build them. Another is working on spacesuits that could survive Mars’ freezing extraterrestrial climate — made up of 95% carbon dioxide and only 0.13% oxygen — while a third is researching whether humans could have children there.
The report cited “two people familiar with his comments” who said Musk “volunteered his sperm to help seed a colony.”
However, Musk has since publicly denied these claims in a response to a post that shared the article on X.
“Best to hear it in the words I have used in many interviews over the years. I have not fwiw ‘volunteered my sperm,’” said Musk.
“No one at SpaceX has been directed to work on a Mars city. When people have asked to do so, I’ve said we need to focus on getting there first.”
Despite Musk’s denial on his social media platform X, the rumor has continued to spread like wildfire across news desks and social media.
Musk reportedly told employees he plans to build a city of one million people on Mars by 2050.
Years earlier, Musk shared his eventual goal would be to launch an average of three starships per day, or 1,000 flights per year.
Musk also once hinted he could see Bitcoin (BTC) potentially used as a form of currency on Mars, though he was initially dismissive of the idea.
In an X Spaces in January, Musk initially shot down using Bitcoin as a currency on Mars due to the significant time it takes to settle transactions.
“It would make sense to use some kind of cryptocurrency on Mars; you couldn’t use Bitcoin because the reconciliation is too long.”
However, after verbally brainstorming by himself, Musk concluded it might actually be feasible given Earth is only eight light minutes from the sun while Mars is approximately 12 light minutes — though it would still face obstacles.
“Perhaps you can use Bitcoin to some degree, but it would be difficult to use it a lot on Mars,” he stated, adding the potential need for a localized network on the planet.