Falcon Heavy's cost of $90 million per launch, made possible by reusable rockets, will vastly undercut SpaceX's competitors.
The payload, which is now on its way to Mars orbit, was Musk's personal Tesla Roadster outfitted with a dummy wearing a flight-grade spacesuit.
But the main attraction of Falcon Heavy was arguably its three 16-story reusable boosters : the force behind of Musk's call for renewed competition in space.
SpaceX's first Falcon Heavy rocket blasts past an American flag at Kennedy Space Center on February 6, 2018.
But as Falcon Heavy starts to launch customer payloads later this year, perhaps once every three to six months, Musk implied it could be "game over" for poor competition while inspiring new competitors to step forward.
He added that Falcon Heavy could "launch things direct to Pluto and beyond, no stop needed" as well as giant satellites.
"I'm just curious if you see yourself in a race with Blue Origin," Tim Fernholz at Quartz asked Musk during the press conference.
- SpaceX's big new rocket blasts off, puts sports car in spacePhys.Org
- SpaceX oddity: how Elon Musk sent a car towards MarsThe Guardian
- After Falcon Heavy launch, Elon Musk revealed 7 wild thingsCNET
- SpaceX launched the most powerful rocket on Earth today — and shot Elon Musk ...Business Insider
- Stephen Colbert geeks out over Elon Musk's Space X launchEW.com (blog)
- WATCH: SpaceX launches the Falcon Heavy, the rocket that could go to MarsPBS NewsHour
- SpaceX Recovered the Falcon Heavy's Two Boosters, But Its Center Core Clipped ...Gizmodo
- Elon Musk marvels at Falcon Heavy's triumph and looks ahead to a bigger rocketGeekWire
- The Morning After: Falcon Heavy awayEngadget
