Musk—who has a history of setting unrealized goals for his companies—says he wants to send humans to Mars by 2029, though he says 2031 may be more likely.

The race to Mars has gone from sci-fi fantasy to a meme-filled reality show, starring none other than Elon Musk.

SpaceX's Starship, spearheaded by Elon Musk, is slated to journey towards Mars by next year's end with Tesla's humanoid bot, Optimus, on board. Musk envisions human landings by 2029 or 2031 if initial trials succeed.