Elon Musk, the billionaire techie who has been dubbed as the real-life version of Marvel's Tony Stark, may have just turned into a villain after declaring his plans to drop nuclear bombs on Mars.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO made the statement during his appearance on CBS' "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," USA Today reported.
Musk, who's interest go beyond electric cars, is also fascinated with space exploration. He even told the show's host Stephen Colbert that he plans to visit the red planet in the near future.
However, Colbert pointed out that the planet's current environmental condition is inhospitable due to its extremely cold climate. But Musk believes this factor can be changed to in order to turn Mars more Earth-like.
When asked for possible solutions, the CEO suggested replicating the effects of global warming on Earth on Mars' surface. This can be done by increasing greenhouse gases to warm up the alien planet.
This method, however, could take a lot of time. So, to speed up the process, Musk suggested bombing Mars with nuclear weapons.
The combination of his calm delivery and the outrageousness of the statement immediately caught the attention of viewers. Many of them took to Twitter to poke fun at what they just saw on television, according to MSNBC.
"She set down her suitcase casually, like Elon Musk explaining his intention to nuke Mars," Twitter user Sandra Allen posted.
Another user even likened the CEO's plan to that of a comic book supervillain.
"I'm pretty sure Elon Musk told Colbert he wants to nuke Mars," user Matt Kalish tweeted. "Cleary Musk isn't Tony Star. He's now more of a Dr. Doom."
Despite Musk's intention to make Mars more habitable for humans, scientists don't believe the two methods will work, the LA Times reported.
According to Brian Toon, a professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences at the University of Colorado, nuking Mars may warm up the planet a bit but it will not be enough to make it habitable.
Joshua Bandfield, a senior research scientist at Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado, explained that dropping nuclear weapons on the red planet may alter its composition that could further complicate its environmental state.
As for Musk's global warming idea, pumping greenhouse gases on Mars will increase the planet's level of carbon dioxide. Although plants will be able to thrive in this kind of condition, it could be lethal for humans and animals.
Check out the clip of Musk's appearance on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" below.
