The real life ‘Iron Man’ is green

As the “Iron Man III” movie hits the big screens, the real live Iron Man has his eye on the incredible traffic gridlock in Los Angeles, mass production electric cars, cheap solar power – and escaping to Mars.

Elon Musk seldom stands still. Musk is best known for founding space exploration company SpaceX and for co-founding Tesla Motors and PayPal. At SpaceX he is the CEO and chief designer and at Tesla Motors he is product architect. In addition, he is the boss of Solar City, promoting cheap solar power.

Musk – the inspiration for the Iron Man character Tony Stark – recently gave $50,000 to Angelenos Against Gridlock, a group that works to improve LA’s transportation systems by drawing public attention to the issue and putting pressure on the government to remain accountable. As he told the magazine, Business Insider, his temper frayed having to endure the notorious traffic on the LA freeway.

For environmental purists, Musk is on the gray end of “green” – using high tech to try to minimize Man’s polluting footprint on Earth. Musk is chief designer for SpaceX, overseeing development of rockets and spacecraft for missions to Earth orbit and ultimately to other planets, looking for ways to develop reuseable rockets.

In 2008, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft won the NASA contract to provide a commercial replacement for the cargo transport function of the space shuttle. In 2012, SpaceX became the first commercial company to dock with the International Space Station and return cargo to Earth with the Dragon.

When it comes to electric cars, Musk believes most people in America will be driving electric cars in about two decades, despite the skepticism of critics.

At Tesla, Musk has overseen product development and design from the beginning, including the all-electric Tesla Roadster, Model S and Model X, and overseeing the rollout of Supercharger stations to keep the cars juiced up. (Some of the charging stations use solar energy systems from SolarCity, of which Musk is the non-executive chair.) Transitioning to a sustainable energy economy, in which electric vehicles play a pivotal role, has been one of his central interests for almost two decades. He co-founded PayPal and served as the company’s chair and CEO.

One of his dreams is to send man to Mars. While seeking to innovate and find cleaner forms of propulsion, he sees a time in the far future where Man outwears his welcome on Earth.

For the real life Iron Man, the sky is definitely not the limit.

Elon Musk – The Mind behind Tesla, SpaceX and Solar City