Elon Musk Purchases Virgin Galactic Ticket for Trip to Space

According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is planning to take a trip to space…not on a SpaceX rocket, but with Virgin Galactic which flew Richard Branson to space on Sunday. The billionaire’s decision to brave space follows in the footsteps of Blue Origin owner Jeff Bezos and Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson, who also have ambitions for space travel. 

It’s uncertain where Musk, CEO of both electric-car maker Tesla and rocket company SpaceX, might sit on Virgin Galactic’s lengthy waiting list. Tickets on Virgin Galactic flights have sold for $250,000 apiece. With Branson completing a short space flight on his Virgin Galactic space plane on Sunday, how far behind can Musk be? Well, Virgin Galactic on Monday couldn’t verify the reports suggesting that it can’t comment on the identities of future astronauts, and Tesla and SpaceX haven’t also issued a statement.

Branson’s trip, which left from New Mexico’s Spaceport America, marked the first time the British billionaire entered “space” and traveled with a full crew cabin. Branson called the trip an “experience of a lifetime” in a radio transmission sent as the plane returned to Earth. Before his Sunday flight, Branson acknowledged his friendship with Musk in a tweet, saying it’s “great to start the morning with a friend.” 

Musk has had his eyes on space for some time now. He plans to send large rockets into space with the goal of eventually getting to Mars, and in the meantime, SpaceX has been busy sending resupply missions to the International Space Station and placing satellites in orbit in order to beam broadband signals to Earth. Bezos, who last week stepped down as CEO of Amazon, plans to ride into space on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket on July 20.

Musk has paid a $10,000 deposit to secure a seat on a future Virgin Galactic trip, Branson told The Sunday Times in an interview. The space company aims to begin flying tourists to the edge of space in 2022. A ticket for a one-hour trip on Virgin Galactic’s space plane costs $250,000 — that also includes training and a spacesuit. About 600 people across 58 countries have already reserved a ticket on VVS Unity, including the celebrities such as Tom Hanks, Justin Bieber, and Lady Gaga.