The question is, without Musk, would all of those amazing engineers have spontaneously ordered themselves into a company to build a rocket that will eventually

The question is, without Musk, would all of those amazing engineers have spontaneously ordered themselves into a company to build a rocket that will eventually take humanity to mars? Musk's function isn't to design the rockets, it's to believe so totally in the idea, to commit so much of his own time and money to it, to overflow with passion, that a generation of engineers are willing to follow him down a path to either greatness or ruin. History is littered with failed rocket startups. You have to be a little bit crazy to believe you're going to do that kind of stuff. Hell, even the smallest startups face impossible odds for success. NASA could have a charismatic front man. I'd nominate Neil deGrasse Tyson. But here's the problem: NASA is ultimately run by Congress and the executive branch, not Neil deGrasse Tyson. Ultimately, his words would mean nothing because he can't back them up. Musk, when he says he's going to build a Raptor engine, has the authority to make it happen.