Elon Musk has been making headlines ever since he started backing Donald Trump for the next United States president. Now that the Republican has won, Musk has been rewarded with an advisory role in a new department named Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
But besides his new job, he already has his sights set on bigger things, namely colonising Mars. For this, he plans to use his SpaceX Starship which will take humans to the red planet.
Reports suggest that he plans on using SpaceX’s Starship for another venture, one on Earth. Musk’s latest plan includes high-speed flights that could decrease flight times by up to 2,200 per cent, as per a report by Unilad Tech.
The main flight currently at the centre of his plans is a flight from New York to Shanghai. Right now, it takes around 14 hours and 50 minutes to travel from one city to another. But with Starship, Musk wants to reduce the flight time to merely 39 minutes.
The spacecraft currently has a maximum speed of 27,000 km/h. However, travelling at that speed might not be very pleasant for humans. Other flights that are part of the plans are – London to New York, Paris to New York and Delhi to San Francisco.
The planned flight times for the three trips are:
London to New York – 29 minutes
Paris to New York – 30 minutes
Delhi to San Francisco – 40 minutes
Responding to a mock video about the superfast flights on X, Musk wrote, “This is now possible.”
Musk and DOGE
Musk’s net worth has seen a jump of over $26 billion in the past few months. With DOGE, he plans to do more in Trump’s administration and has been handed the responsibility of cutting down on costs.
Trump spoke about him in his speech at an event held at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Thursday night. He said that he can’t get rid of Musk and he is around at his clubhouse all the time.
Meanwhile, Musk’s plans for Mars include sending an uncrewed Starship in the next two years as a test run. If all goes well, he plans to send humans to the red planet in another four years.