Not to defend Elon. But IIRC the movement of our solar system in the galaxy has us on a trajectory toward increased impact activity which could include extinction level events. For humanity and life as we know it to survive, exploring space and finding other homes outside of our solar system is necessary. And while we have quite a long time before this happens, we are going to need to make the first steps. However, this is where governments come into play. They make it possible and push the technology. Private companies drive down the costs and refine the technology and profit off the government funded research. This is where SpaceX lives, they largely are taking advantage of existing technology created by DARPA and NASA and refined it for lower cost solutions decades later. This system can work well, until we get players like the Titanic carbon fiber submersibles disruptors. I have full faith that humans will replicate that disaster in space exploration also.