These are accomplishments which should not be taken lightly. These rapid developments have shown that SpaceX has the ability to take on incredible technical challenges and accomplish them. The next immediate goals for the company are now to have more frequent launches with the Falcon Heavy, which launched successfully earlier in 2018, and to have a manned flight in the dragon space capsule. However, these are just minor goals along the way to accomplishing Elon’s master plan.

From the beginning, the plan has been to get to Mars, period. Elon has stated numerous reasons why he wants this, the most important being the survival of our species. As we now know, our planet is fragile and humanity has not had a good impact on it. If we continue on the same pace as we are now, our planet may one day be inhospitable. Or who knows, maybe a giant asteroid will hit our planet and cause massive devastation. Regardless of what happens, Mars can be seen as a life boat for humanity itself. On its surface are all the materials needed for humans to survive and, perhaps one day, to thrive. We have discovered water, oxygen can be extracted from the CO2 currently making up the Martian atmosphere, and building materials are readily available. A self-sustaining colony would take decades of development, cost billions of dollars, and provide little economic incentive, however, those are problems for another day. The first step is to get there.

So far SpaceX has only ventured outside our planet’s gravity once. Essentially an intergalactic shot in the dark to show they are serious about Mars. The secondary goal of the inaugurating test flight of the Falcon Heavy, currently the world’s most powerful rocket, was to put a Tesla Model S into orbit around Mars. However, this did not go according to plan and the Tesla missed the mark and is now in orbit around the Sun instead. Regardless of the minor directional control issues on the later stage, this launch showed that SpaceX could successfully launch a huge multistage rocket and delivery a payload deep into interstellar space. Even though the Falcon Heavy has been active for less than a year, SpaceX is already beginning to develop its next rocket, the one that will send mankind for Mars.

This rocket has been named Starship and its specs are impressive. It will be almost 400 feet tall, supply about 14 million pounds of thrust, and be able to send over 100,000 kilograms of equipment to the surface of Mars. The plan right now is to send the rocket into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) around the Earth and then refuel it for the journey to Mars. This allows the rocket to carry more supplies more efficiently. This rocket will also be completely reusable and be capable of making multiple trips to and from Mars, drastically reducing the cost of each flight. Even though it is still in the development phase, this rocket has the power to send mankind to its next evolutionary step. Similar to the Saturn V which carried Neil Armstrong to the moon, or even the Santa Maria which sent Columbus to the New World, this ship, carrying Elon Musk’s vision, has the power to carry the torch of humanity to a new planet. Expect big news from SpaceX in the next decade.

“There is a big interest in Hyperloop in Saudi Arabia. I think when the right time comes, we will restart talking to Saudi Arabia about their plans and how Hyperloop can fit in those plans,” ,” Ahmed bin Sulayem told CNBC’s Dan Murphy in an interview Monday.

Sulayem is a group chairman and chief executive of Dubai-headquartered port operator DP World, which is a major investor in Virgin Hyperloop One. He became Richard Branson’s successor shortly after the British billionaire left his role as chairman of the firm.

Branson left the position last month, saying that the company would need a “more hands-on” chairperson, and that it would be hard for him to continue in the role because of the constraints resulting from his work in philanthropy and Virgin Group’s different kinds of business units.

When the executive left the company, it was followed uncertainty around whether Virgin Hyperloop One would continue to conduct business with Saudi Arabia, which would make him owe to Branson distancing himself from the country after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Branson suspended negotiations over a proposed $1 billion investment in Virgin’s space companies, Virgin Galactic and Virgin Orbit, after Khashoggi’s death.

A Financial Times report last month added to that uncertainty. It was said that Saudi Arabia had cancelled a planned deal to conduct a feasibility study with Virgin Hyperloop One. However, CNBC contradicted that later, saying the firm was still in talks with the Saudis to reach a deal.

For Sulayem’s part, he said that any talks over a Saudi deal with Virgin Hyperloop One would likely come after the completion of a project in India. He said it was better to concentrate on “a project we have in hand” in India, and then look to push expansion into other markets.

“We had good discussions with Saudi Arabia and they had interest in utilizing Hyperloop. This is something we’re going to discuss with them hopefully in the next few months,” said Sulayem.

Multiple firms are trying out their own versions of hyperloop technology. The technology, which involves pods that are propelled through low-pressure tubes at ultra-fast speeds, was first envisioned by Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk in 2013.

Musk’s SpaceX and The Boring Company are working to implement hyperloop systems in the U.S., while Hyperloop Transportation Technologies and TransPod are also competing to build their own versions of the technology.

Sulayem also said the firm’s technology was “very interesting” and “could transform really the way people travel en masse.”

“The company has I think a good opportunity today because they have completed more than anyone else in this field and hopefully India will be the first one,” Sulayem added. The company is also trying to find to build its hyperloop transportation system in the United Arab Emirates. It also released a deal with DP World earlier this year to create a hyperloop that transports cargo at ultra-fast speeds.

Meanwhile, Branson told CNBC last month that rides on the company’s hyperloop would cost “no more than a high-speed trainline ticket.”