Elon Musk thinks President Donald Trump is on to something with his plan to build a sixth branch of the armed forces.
Speaking to journalist Kara Swisher in the Recode Decode podcast on Friday, Musk said that Trump’s proposed plan to form the Space Force “could be pretty helpful for maybe expanding our civilization.”
“I do think it will become obvious over time that a Space Force is a sensible thing to do,” he told Swisher. CNET earlier reported on his comments.
Trump pitched the idea of a Space Force earlier this year. The military branch would focus its efforts on protecting American interests in space and prepare the U.S. for possible space-based war. It would hold the same rights and the same position as the other military branches, like the Army and Air Force.
Many in the technology community have signaled support for the creation of a Space Force. And although some have been critical of the cost of established a new military branch, Musk ultimately believes that history will prove Trump right.
“People today may not realize, back then it was widely panned as a ridiculous thing to create the Air Force, but now everyone’s like, ‘Obviously you should have an Air Force,'” Musk said. “And I think it’s gonna become obvious that we should have a Space Force, too.”
But before that can happen, Congress will need to support the measure. It’s expected lawmakers will vote on approving the Space Force in 2019.