Elon Musk Warns Comet 3I/ATLAS could Pose Existential Threat
During an appearance on the Joe Rogan Experiance podcast on October 31, 2025, Elon Musk addressed speculation surrounding the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, issuing a stark warning about its potential impact. The discussion arose after Rogan suggested the comet’s high nickel content might indicate an artificial origin.
Musk clarified that a high nickel proportion is not uncommon in comets and asteroids.However, he conceded that if the object were composed entirely of nickel, ”there would even be the possibility that it was a heavy spacecraft.” He further emphasized the potential devastation a comet of that size could inflict, stating it “could annihilate an entire continent. Or even worse.”
Musk’s comments referenced the past record of cosmic impacts, noting that fossil evidence points to approximately five extinction-level events caused by such collisions. he cautioned, though, that thes records likely only represent impacts large enough to cause mass extinctions, and may not account for events that “destroyed entire continents.”
NASA estimates 3I/ATLAS reached its closest approach to the Sun around October 31, 2025, at a distance of approximately 210 million kilometers.While NASA has not released an exact size estimate, the comet’s diameter is believed to range between 440 meters and 5.6 kilometers.
Scientists have tracked the comet’s trajectory as its discovery, determining it originated from the direction of the constellation Sagittarius, located in the central region of the Milky Way galaxy.
According to The Sky Live, an astronomy website, 3I/ATLAS will make its closest approach to Earth on Friday, December 19, 2025, at a distance of 268,898,938 kilometers (1.797478 Astronomical Units).As of November 10, the comet was 324,325,508 kilometers (2.1679821149 Astronomical Units) from earth.
