Tesla CEO Elon Musk adding SNL hosting job to his to-do list

SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrives on the red carpet for the Axel Springer media award in Berlin. Photo / Getty Images

Technology mogul Elon Musk has a lined up a new gig in addition to his jobs as CEO of electric car maker Tesla and spaceship maker SpaceX.

He is going to host the iconic TV show "Saturday Night Live."

Musk's scheduled May 8 appearance builds upon his recent run of success. Tesla's stock is worth nearly six times more than it was before the pandemic started, leaving Musk with an estimated fortune of US$177 billion ($246m), according to Forbes magazine.

And SpaceX has just launched a mission that sent astronauts to the International Space Station.

Saturday Night Live doesn't make a habit of having business executives host its show, but Musk is far from a stuffy corporate type. He regularly jokes around on Twitter, where he has nearly 52 million followers and has gotten into legal trouble for making disparaging remarks about critics and hinting that he might lead a buyout of Tesla that resulted him getting fined $20 million by stock market regulators.

Miley Cyrus will be the musical guest on the night Musk hosts.

In a recent interview, a barefoot Elon Musk joked that "a bunch of people will probably die" in the quest for the exploration of Mars.

the multimillionnaire entrepreneur spoke candidly about his plans for tourism on the red planet, and what needs to happen before they become a reality.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO spoke to XPrize founder and chairman Peter Diamandis about his outer space plans saying Mars isn't an "escape hatch for rich people".

During the interview, Musk said travelling to Mars will be "dangerous" and "uncomfortable".

"It's a long journey, you might not come back alive, but it's a glorious adventure and it'll be an amazing experience," he said.

"If an arduous and dangerous journey where you might not come back alive, but it's a glorious adventure, sounds appealing, Mars is the place. That's the ad for Mars," he said.

"Honestly, a bunch of people probably will die in the beginning. It's tough sledging over there, you know," he added.

"We don't make anyone go. It's volunteers only."