What else could Elon Musk buy for $43 billion?

Photo by Sean O’Kane / The Verge

This morning, the current wealthiest man in the world offered to buy the company for $43 billion and take it private. A lot of money is spent on a company that allows users to post their thoughts in 280-characters.

The shocking move had many wondering what else Musk could spend $43 billion on. We thought we could give some options if the board doesn't like the offer.

Return to the Moon

If you want to get the public fired up, we need to have a base on the Moon.

$43 billion is a long way to get people on the moon. NASA is currently trying to send humans back to the Moon with its Artemis program, and Musk is getting big bucks from NASA to participate. Jim Bridenstine, the administrator of NASA at the time, estimated that the agency would need up to $30 billion to return to the Moon. NASA will spend over $90 billion on Artemis between 2012 and 2025, according to a government audit.

It is possible that Musk will pour $43 billion into the effort to send people to the Moon, which may or may not send the effort into overdrive, and even beat NASA to put people on the lunar surface. He could use the money to get a jump on all the other things he needs for his deep-space ventures, like habitats, lunar space suits, and infrastructure. The new Starship vehicle is designed to take people to the Moon and deeper into space, but instead of bidding on NASA contracts, the company is trying to raise money for it. NASA gave a contract worth nearly $3 billion to the company to help develop a lunar lander. Musk could have easily paid that contract nearly 15 times over, and even his rival, Jeff Bezos, offered to build a competing lunar lander for NASA for free. It makes sense not to spend your own money when the government will eat some of the cost.

Help solve world hunger

The most frustrating thing about the offer is that it is not broken. It's a cursed hellsite, but it's kind of aTwitter. $43 billion is a long way to solve several institutional problems in this country and the world. The United Nations World Food Programme came up with a plan to give 42 million people one meal per day for a year. The cost of that plan is over $6 billion. $43 billion could go a lot further. The UNWFP didn't see a part of the check that was donated by Elon.

It's possible that Elon doesn't want to do the real tangible thing that's already been laid out for him. There are a lot of institutional problems he could throw money at that would have a noticeable impact on people's lives. Antonio's suggestion is below. It will give the rest of us more brain worms if we buy it.

Buy a struggling media company to support journalism

Jeff Bezos spent $250 million to buy The Washington Post in order to support the free press. Laurene Powell Jobs spent a reported $100 million and now owns a majority stake in The Atlantic. Is these purchases meant to support their egos? Probably! They protected age-old institutions of journalism that might have been destroyed by ad duopolies and the troubling economics of running a media business in the modern age. It would be better for him to back up his claim of being a champion of free speech with a media company than to put Trump back on a platform he didn't add much to.

Literally build bridges

One in three US bridges are in need of repair or replacement according to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association. Don't just think about the big tourist attractions like the George Washington Bridge or Golden Gate. Think about the little ones you drive, bike, or walk over every day in your local area, like the Fern Hollow Bridge that collapsed in Pittsburgh. How much does it cost to repair and replace these bridges? About $42 billion.

All of these bridges across the country could be fixed with the money that Elon has left over, and he still has another billion dollars left over to do what he pleases. About 217 million people are on the micro-messaging service. There are more people in the US who use bridges than there are.

The USA's infrastructure is a joke compared to other developed nations. If you've ever driven on a road in Germany, you'll know the difference. If money like that can be thrown around by the richest man in the world, why not use it on things that actually help people and save lives? I would be okay with him changing a bunch of bridges to something else.

Pay for an actual Tesla PR team

The public relations team is notexistent. It is made up of Musk. While most automotive and tech-adjacent companies have hundreds of PR experts on payroll to respond to press inquiries and to help position the company on its best footing each and every day,Tesla is completely lacking in this area.

Musk is charismatic, but he doesn't represent everyone who works at the company. It's not possible for a PR team to do that, but they can communicate more effectively with sites like ours. The best news for Elon is that it won't cost $43 billion to establish one.

Fund a real transportation project

Musk claims to care a lot about transportation. He is the owner of a car company and a tunnel digging venture that wants to alleviate road congestion by building a network of underground car tubes. Neither of these projects would fix the transportation problems that exist around the world, like crumbling infrastructure or the decline of public transportation. Cars make traffic worse, and digging tunnels for more cars would shift most of our problems underground.

Instead of spending $43 billion or something like that, Musk could use the money to make a difference in the world. Making it easier for people to find and use public transportation reduces carbon emissions.

Over a 10-year period in the US, 19 percent of transit vehicles and 6 percent of fixed guideway elements were rated poor. The transit deficit is expected to grow to more than $270 billion through 2029. Musk could reduce that amount by at least a third by using the money to buy the bird website.

Taking a bus or subway instead of driving a car is one of the most effective actions a person can take to conserve energy and reduce climate-destroying carbon emissions. If Musk invested his money wisely, he could make a serious impact on our survivability as a species.