Elon Musk’s Broken Promises.
Let’s overlook the thousands of lives he’s destroyed and concentrate on the hype he receives as a supposed genius and innovator.
Elon Musk is a widely despised figure who has appropriated undeserved credit as a scientific genius. Here’s a breakdown of some of Elon Musk’s major unfulfilled promises, with a nod to his exploding rockets along the way. While he gets such credit even from critics and opponents he’s probably responsible for at least 300,000 deaths among the poor people of the world.
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🚀 1. Mars by 2024 (or 2029?)
• Promise: Musk once predicted SpaceX would land humans on Mars by 2024, then later said 2029.
• Reality: No crewed Mars missions have launched. The massive Starship rocket, meant for Mars, is still in testing. Several prototypes have exploded during landing attempts.
“I want to die on Mars, just not on impact.” – Musk, 2013
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🚀 2. Fully Reusable Rockets by 2020
• Promise: Musk aimed for rapid, full reusability, likening Starship to an “airplane-like operation.”
• Reality: Starship is still in experimental phase. While Falcon 9 boosters land and are reused, the upper stage is not, and Starship itself has exploded multiple times during test flights (though recent tests have progressed).
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🚘 3. Full Self-Driving (FSD) by 2018
• Promise: Tesla would achieve Level 5 autonomy (no steering wheel needed) by 2018–2020.
• Reality: As of 2025, Tesla’s FSD Beta is still Level 2, requiring constant human supervision. It’s been involved in accidents and is under federal investigation.
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🛩️ 4. Tesla Robotaxi Fleet by 2020
• Promise: One million Tesla robotaxis would be on the road in 2020.
• Reality: Zero Tesla robotaxis exist. The promise has been quietly delayed year after year. Other domestic manufacturers have taken the lead in developing and fielding robotaxis in cites like Houston Texas.
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🤖 5. Tesla Optimus Robot Doing Your Chores by 2022
• Promise: Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus, would do “boring, repetitive tasks” and maybe even “make you coffee” soon after its 2021 unveiling.
• Reality: Demos in 2022 and 2023 were awkward and heavily scripted. As of 2025, it’s a prototype with limited function, not available commercially.
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🧠 6. Neuralink Human Trials in 2020
• Promise: Human brain-computer interface testing by 2020.
• Reality: The first human trial only began in 2024. The company was fined for alleged animal welfare violations. Its tech is still years away from mass use.
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⚡ 7. Solar Roofs at Scale by 2018
• Promise: Beautiful solar roof tiles would replace traditional roofing.
• Reality: Production has been plagued by delays, cost overruns, and underwhelming output. Most installations were traditional panels, not tiles.
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📞 8. Hyperloop by 2020
• Promise: A vacuum-tube transport system faster than airplanes.
• Reality: Musk hyped the idea in 2013, but no operational Hyperloop exists. SpaceX killed its test tunnel in 2022.
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🚨 Exploding Rockets – Symbol or Sign?
While explosions are part of development in aerospace, the Starship test campaign has seen dramatic failures:
• SN1 to SN4 (2020): Exploded or collapsed during tests.
• SN8, SN9, SN10 (2020–2021): Reached high altitude, then crashed.
• Starship Orbital Flights (2023–2024): Mixed success, with early flights exploding or failing mid-flight.
“Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.” – Musk
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⚖️ In Summary
Musk thrives on bold timelines government contracts and subsidies , but they’re While his companies have achieved real breakthroughs, his credibility suffers from consistent overstatement, and critics argue that exploding prototypes and shifting deadlines are symptoms of a reckless, hype-driven approach.