Elon Musk says it’s ‘only a matter of time’ as he explains why humans need a ‘second planet’

Elon Musk has been vocal about humanity’s need for a 'second planet' and said it essentially is a life-and-death matter.

As long as Musk has been a public figure, he has been very open about his plans to eventually colonize Mars.

On one hand, it sounds great, a whole planet of free radioactive real estate, but on the other, we have so many problems down here on Earth that it is probably worth trying to address those before we head off into space.

But during a recent interview on The Joe Rogan Experience, Musk hinted it is because of these reasons that we should consider getting off this ride and setting up another place for humanity to thrive.

Elon Musk has made his views clear on the importance of heading to Mars (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Speaking on the podcast, Musk - who previously said he wanted to die on the Red Planet - explained: “My view is that we should move to Mars, well not move to Mars, we should have a second planet to preserve civilization.

“Let’s say hypothetically, [a civilization ending event] will probably happen to Earth at some point.

“It is a matter of time before we get hit by an asteroid or maybe we annihilate ourselves with nuclear war, or super volcanos.”

Rogan agreed and added there were a fair few doomsday scenarios that could befall our planet so it's ‘not a bad idea’ to simply ‘hedge your bets’ when it comes to venturing elsewhere.

Musk insisted it is ‘only a matter of time’ until an asteroid strikes Earth (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

This fear over humanity’s destruction isn’t exactly unfounded in recent years.

This is clear when you remember the threat of nuclear war is constantly looming when nations with nuclear arsenals butt heads. As well as this, the pandemic is still a recent memory and showed how quickly normal life can change due to a rapidly spreading disease.

But more topically, asteroid fears have recently skyrocketed as NASA has continued to give updates on a ‘city-destroying’ asteroid that could strike as soon as seven years.

2024 YR4 was first spotted after it set off automated asteroid warning systems in December 2024, and astronomers have been tracking it ever since.

According to NASA, the space object measures around 130 to 300 feet across (40 to 90 meters), and should it hit Earth, the force would be hundreds of times the force of the Hiroshima bomb.

Most concerningly, the initial probability of the space rock striking Earth was just 1.2 percent but updates have seen this number increase to as high as 3.2 percent.

However, let’s hope that the percentage strike number starts going back down over the next few years.