Elon Musk: I have a 70% chance of leaving for Mars

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, said that there was "70% chance" that he personally traveled to Mars.

Musk, 47, told the new Axios show on HBO that he thought the Mars exploration was more than a fantasy imagined by the super-rich who might want to use travel in space as a "way out".

"Your probability of dying on Mars is much higher than that of the Earth," he told Mike Allen, Axios. "It's going to be hard, there's a good chance of dying, getting in a bit (sic) through deep space."

"We think you can come back but we are not sure, now does it look like an escape hatch for the rich?"

Musk said that while it would be difficult to fly on Mars, landing on the red planet could pose even more problems.

"You can land successfully, and once you land successfully, you will work tirelessly to build the base," he suggested. "So, you know, not much time for hobbies, and even after all that, it's a very harsh environment, so … there's a good chance you'll die there."

Still, Musk said that advances in technology could allow a flight to Mars by seven years ago, with a ticket price of "a few hundred thousand dollars".

And despite the risks, Musk claimed that he would go without hesitation.

"There are a lot of people climbing mountains, people are dying all the time on Mount Everest."

"They like to do it for the challenge."

Musk often talked about colonizing Mars with his SpaceX company and said he was concerned about a possible relief plan for humanity if the Earth ended up becoming an uninhabitable wasteland. Business Insider's Dave Mosher has compiled a speculative timeline on Mars' future SpaceX exploration.

And for more than ten years, SpaceX has developed several impressive aerospace systems: Falcon 1, its first orbital rocket; Grasshopper, a small self-test rocket; Falcon 9, an orbital class reusable launcher; Dragon, a spaceship for cargo and soon NASA astronauts; and Falcon Heavy, a super-heavy pitcher.

Last week, The Washington Post announced that NASA would launch a security review of SpaceX and Boeing, two contracted companies with whom it will fly astronauts to the International Space Station. The move follows Musk's appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast in September, where he was seen in the live program smoking grass and drinking whiskey.