I actually meant the author. She is taking Musk too seriously. There may be people in the general public, who are unrelated to SpaceX or anything space related,

I actually meant the author. She is taking Musk too seriously. There may be people in the general public, who are unrelated to SpaceX or anything space related, who are crazy about Mars. But my point is that even SpaceX has plenty to do besides going to Mars, and nobody in government or private industry is pushing for Mars colonization with any kind of religious fervor. Ambitions are a good thing. I do believe it is a good idea to have a permanent settlement on Mars, mostly for scientific reasons. But there's no "race" toward this goal, not even a forceful push. Progress is slow but steady now.