Tesla CEO Elon Musk wants to make this planet 'great again'

Elon Musk , who has often spoken about his passion for space and the idea of multi-planetary human civilization, is now turning his attention to Pluto . Known for backing ambitious goals like building colonies on Mars and making space travel more common, Musk recently said that he will support the idea of bringing Pluto back to its former status as a planet.

Canadian actor William Shatner recently shared a Twitter post stating:

“We should ask Elon to get the President to sign one of those Executive thingies to make Pluto a planet again.”

The post caught the Tesla CEO’s attention who replied in confirmation, saying:

“I’d support that”.

I’d support that

— Kekius Maximus (@elonmusk) May 16, 2025

Why Pluto is no longer considered a planet
Pluto was classified as a dwarf planet on August 24, 2006 at the International Astronomy Union (IAU) General Assembly. It was stripped of its planet status, under IAU Resolution 5A, ‘Definition of a Planet in the Solar System’. According to IAU, a planet is a celestial body that:

• is in orbit around the Sun
• has sufficient mass for its gravity to overcome rigid body forces so it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape
• has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit.

According to a BBC report, Pluto couldn't fullfill of the conditions -- all material must be cleared from the object’s orbit -- due to its small size and hence was re-classified as a 'dwarf planet'.

Last month, Musk expressed his disappointment that humans haven't reached Mars yet, despite SpaceX 's efforts. X user Massimo @Rainmaker1973 then shared a post highlighting two landmark moments in tech history – the Wright brothers' first successful flight on December 17, 1903 and Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969. Sharing photos from the two events, the post read: “These two photographs are separated by only 66 years”.

Responding to the post, the tech billionaire said “Only 66 years from first flight to landing on the Moon in 1969,” further adding “Here we are, 76 years later cannot yet return to the Moon."

Only 66 years from first flight to landing on the Moon in 1969.

Here we are, 76 years later cannot yet return to the Moon. We should have been on Mars by now. https://t.co/Oo3DhxLrAl

— Kekius Maximus (@elonmusk) April 23, 2025

“We should have been on Mars by now,” Musk wrote, expressing his frustration, despite SpaceX's ambitious goals to colonize Mars using Starship's reusable transportation system.

SpaceX's Mars ambitions face significant challenges, marked by the second Starship test failure on March 6th. The vehicle exploded during its eighth test fight, underscoring the technical hurdles in Musk's timeline for Mars exploration.