Elon Musk shifts gears: Slowing down on Mars, accelerating in AI

Years ago, when I wrote about why Twitter was acquired, I did not interpret the move merely as a social media play. I stated that the real issue in Elon Musk's mind was Mars. At the time, this assessment was considered too ambitious. Today, however, the same ideas are being voiced by a wide circle.

Back then, reading the picture correctly was not difficult for me. The artificial intelligence side was already on a path. OpenAI and the open-source world were progressing at their own pace. There was no uncertainty there. In contrast, the space side, especially the Mars goal, was still in an early stage. It was technically possible, but the timing and cost aspects had not yet fallen into place.

The point I was paying attention to was this: For Musk, Mars was not a project, but a priority. Or rather, not a goal, but a necessity.

To understand this perspective, one needs to go back a bit. In the 90s, there was Iridium, developed by Motorola. Global satellite communication was the goal. It provided phone and data connectivity via satellites in low Earth orbit. It worked technically, but it went bankrupt in 1999 due to costs.

Then, the same idea was tried again and again in different forms.

Google, with Project Loon, tried to provide internet via balloons placed in the stratosphere. The system distributed the signal it received from ground stations to wide areas via balloons. It was shut down in 2021 because economic sustainability could not be achieved.

Meta Platforms, with the Aquila project, aimed to provide similar coverage using solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicles. These drones were intended to stay at high altitudes for long periods and distribute internet. The project was terminated in 2018.

On the Microsoft side, there was Teledesic. This Bill Gates-backed project aimed to provide global broadband internet with hundreds of satellites. The model was quite similar to today's Starlink. However, it was canceled in 2003 due to high costs and the market not being ready.

The common point of these projects was this: the idea was correct, but the timing was wrong.

Musk, on the other hand, took the same idea and made it work at the right time. Starlink emerged. Today, the issue is not just satellite internet. It is a communication infrastructure on a planetary scale.

The Twitter acquisition is not separate from this context. At the time, many people evaluated this decision as Musk losing control. However, the issue should have been read from another angle. Twitter, today known as X (formerly Twitter), is not just a social media platform. It is the center of data flow, communication, and distribution. In the age of artificial intelligence, data is not oil; it is the production itself.

Therefore, the moves Musk is making are not scattered, but pieces that complement each other.

Now, at the point we have reached, the picture seems to have changed. On the SpaceX side, the Mars goal has been pushed to the background. The topics that have replaced it are shorter-term and more monetizable areas: artificial intelligence, space-based data centers, Moon projects, and chip production.

This is not a step back. It is a speed adjustment.

Mars is still there, but it is economically premature. Artificial intelligence, on the contrary, is the game of today. It attracts investment, creates value, and has become a priority for states and companies. Musk is also shifting his capital and focus here.

Reading this only as Musk's preference would be incomplete. The real issue is this: Space projects worldwide are not progressing at the expected speed. Mars is still difficult, expensive, and uncertain. In contrast, artificial intelligence is fast, concrete, and highly profitable.

Therefore, it is more accurate to read this change as follows: Musk has not given up on Mars. He has only changed the order.

Today, humanity is leaning into artificial intelligence. Because the results are here in the short term. Space, on the other hand, seems like it will wait a little longer.

In other words, Mars has been left for another spring.

In Brief

* This week, I was going to publish an article about Alex Karp's (the public knows him as Palantir Technologies) manifesto and whether Turkey needs to take a stance on this issue. So many people have talked nonsense about this that I decided not to share my article. Those who want to reach the real information on this subject can contact me directly.

* The European Union is removing non-user-replaceable batteries in smartphones. I think this is a very correct decision. Until now, waterproofing was used as an excuse, but technology is now at a level that can overcome this.

* Toyota's robot named CUE7 was introduced; new generation robots that can work with humans are coming to the fore. I wonder about two things. 1. What happened to Honda's robot ASIMO? 2. Where is IBM Watson now?

* In a half-marathon held in China, robots broke the human record and completed the course in 50 minutes and 28 seconds; this has now turned from a show into a performance race.

* Unauthorized collection of user data via Google Chrome extensions has become a topic of debate again; some extensions have been removed from the store.

* BYD has increased its battery warranty in Turkey to 8 years / 250,000 km.