[citation needed] There are, of course, many people "at the level" of Elon Musk. (I don't mean that flippantly, either.)

Sounds like you have that citation already on hand. Give me that list of many people doing the equivalent of sending people to Mars, changing the auto industry, and building an alternative energy empire.

> doing the equivalent of sending people to Mars

Musk isn't doing that. He likes to talk about it but there are many decades of work before it becomes viable (if it ever does.)