Elon Musk, after years of endeavoring to establish life on Mars, faced skepticism regarding his commitment, particularly from Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates. In a recent podcast, Dalio recounts advising Musk against investing his earnings from PayPal entirely into SpaceX. He warned Musk to secure some funds for personal security, but Musk was adamant about his vision, highlighting his non-traditional lifestyle and extreme dedication to his enterprises, which included sleeping in his offices during challenging times. An IPO for SpaceX marks a significant achievement, yet analysts express reservations about the feasibility of Musk's Martian ambitions.

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Innovation Ray Dalio

Ray Dalio warned Elon Musk against betting all his money on Mars exploration: The SpaceX CEO invested $100m anyway, and had to borrow cash for rent

Eleanor Pringle

By Eleanor Pringle Eleanor Pringle

Senior Reporter, Economics and Markets Down Arrow Button Icon

Eleanor Pringle

By Eleanor Pringle Eleanor Pringle

Senior Reporter, Economics and Markets Down Arrow Button Icon

July 22, 2026, 6:40 AM ET

L-R: Elon Musk and Ray Dalio.

L-R: Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio.L-R:Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, Taylor Hill/Getty Images)

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The recent flurry of headlines around SpaceX’s mega IPO makes it easy to forget that Elon Musk has been working toward establishing life on Mars for more than two decades.

This summer, the rocket company made its debut on the Nasdaq in the largest IPO in history. For the first time, analysts had the chance to examine the company’s inner workings. Within the prospectus, the SpaceX team wrote the company’s aim was to “build the systems and technologies necessary to make life multiplanetary, to understand the true nature of the universe, and to extend the light of consciousness to the stars.”

So, no small task.

Back to the details

Dalio said Musk’s personality of being a “shaper” comes with a binary: Massive, big-scale thinking, but also a fanatical attention to the details.

He recalled seeing this up close: “The issue of a shaper is they want to go from visualization to actualization … they go from this very picture down to ‘What are those details?’ So, I remember Elon gave me the key to his car”—presumably a Tesla—”it had a little button and he showed me the screen and he got into the details a lot. And we’re talking about how he wants to put a watering can with a plant on a rocket to send it to Mars.”

“So, it’s a 10,000-foot level and a 10-centimetre level.”

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About the Author

By Eleanor PringleSenior Reporter, Economics and Markets

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Eleanor Pringle is an award-winning senior reporter at Fortune covering news, the economy, and personal finance. Eleanor previously worked as a business correspondent and news editor in regional news in the U.K. She completed her journalism training with the Press Association after earning a degree from the University of East Anglia.

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