Says, President Trumps vision of soldiers marching and tanks rolling down the boulevards of washington is moving closer to reality in the pentagon and white house, where Officials Say they have begun to plan a Grand Military Parade later this year showcasing the might of Americas Armed forces. Trump has long mused publicly and privately about wanting such a parade, but a January 18th Meeting between trump and top generals in the pentagons tank, a room reserved for topsecret discussions, marked a Tipping Point according to two officials briefed on the planning. So theres where we begin. Lets bring in our leadoff panel on a tuesday night. Phillip rucker. White house bureau chief for the Washington Post. Shannon pettypiece for bloomberg news. And the Pool Reporter on duty at the white house today. So, todd, id like to begin with you. Talk about the president s demeanor, the kind of Bluster Index compared to other days
youve spent on the beat and the mood around him in the west wing. It was pretty extraordinary to hear him talking with such enthusiasm about the possibility of a shutdown. When we had a 16day shutdown a few years ago, basically the economy lost about 1 billion a day. The threeday shutdown didnt seem too damaging just a few weeks ago, but its pretty unusual to hear a president or anyone in washington say it would be a great thing to have a shutdown and he repeated the word over and over and over. He seemed combative. It did not seem to be something that was just off the cuff. It seemed like something he probably came into that Meeting Planning to throw on the table. Shannon, to todds point, we are not used to hearing president s say this kind of thing. Though weve now said that kind of thing about this president on this broadcast so many times. Ditto the chief of staff, john
kelly was supposed to be the incoming fixer, not part of the problem, but a moderaing force, and especially on immigration, john kelly turns out to be more of an ideologue than i think anyone banked on. Well, he was the head of homeland security. Appointed by President Trump. The Main Department that has been charged with cracking down on Illegal Immigrants in the u. S. Those coming across the border. He has gone out of his way pa a few times, though, to wade into issues of race or issues of immigration when he really doesnt have to. Today is a good example of that where he didnt have to make this point. He is on the hill trying to create a bipartisan deal, trying to bring people together and makes a comment that did not seem necessarily off the cuff because as you pointed out, he repeated it again. What is he trying to accomplish by that . All he has to do is not stay anything and go about trying to strike a bipartisan deal. Congressional memos pertaining to the Russia Investigation, or his his comments yesterday about democrats in congress who did not stand up and clap for him at the state of the union. Philip, congrats on a clean kill on the Military Parade story. Thank you. You and your coauthor tonight. I have to say, ive watched a lot of the subsequent coverage of it on cable tonight. I heard one White House Correspondent say she was there in paris and was amazed that the parade on bastille day kept the president s attention, she said, for hours. Something thats very rare. I heard a former general kind of gently asking if the president may not know how and that our Military History differs from france. The president may not know that Military Parades should not be the stuff of a superpower. Did you pick up reaction along the way from the pentagon . I know you interviewed at least one historian. Yeah, you know, brian, first of all, the president truly was dazzled by that parade in france, and talked about it to his aides in private on the flight home on Air Force One and in the weeks that followed and, indeed, two months after that parade when he sat down with president macron of france at the United Nations general assembly. Said he was so struck by that parade, americas going to have to oneup france and do its own parade. But to your broader point about the dynamic here, i picked up some concern in the pentagon, frankly, that the military officials there would like to not see this parade happen. This is not usual activity. There have been some instances, rather, in history, including john f. Kennedys inaugural parade in 1961, where Military Equipment was used. But for the most part throughout the cold war, america did not display its arsenal on the streets the way moscow did in the red square. And that was deliberate. There was a consensus within the American Government that doing so was unnecessary for the
leading superpower. That we everyone knew we had a strong military, we dont have to waste money and time showing it off. Theres some legitimate concerns at the pentagon including about the cost this would endure. It could be potentially tens of millions of dollars. Its unclear where that money would come from. Its not been appropriated in the budget. Then there are very practical concerns like how do you transport these huge tanks from bases around the country to washington . And then if youre going to rumble down pennsylvania avenue, theyre going to destroy the asphalt and the city will have to repave the roads. Heard a former general tonight say you have to decide which tanks to take out of the tank line in ft. Stewart, georgia, spif them up and get them parade ready. Theyre not built for parades. So, shannon, i also heard it noted tonight that weve got thousands of troops in the field and at least two war zones that have not received a visit from the president. He has an interesting relationship with the military. He loves his generals. I mean, i guess this parade
well, its pretty real. It seems unlikely that there would be a shutdown. Theres very little appetite in congress for that. Even if theres president President Trump seems to have an appetite for it. Hes talking about a shutdown as a tactic in order to force congress to address his Immigration Plan which has a number of planks which are extremely controversial at the capitol. He wants to dramatically curtail legal immigration, Curving The Chain Migration allowing sponsorship of new visas by immigrants and citizens. Its really an overhaul of immigration policy, which doesnt go quite well with the budget fight. So the democrats have really resisted much of what the president is suggesting. We heard general kelly talking about the president is a champion of 1. 8 Million People who are daca eligible and that
up next, new developments on the russia front including rosenstein back at the white house. Bannon reportedly on his way to mueller. Were just Getting Started on a tuesday night. Fred would do anything for his daughter. Get in, fred even if it means being the back half of a unicorn. Fear not fred, the front half washed his shirt with gain flings and that smell puts the giddy in giddy up. Thats because one gain flings pac has more freshness than a whole bottle of the other guy. Gain. Seriously good scent. Pick a domain name. Choose a design. You can build a website in under an hour. Now thats a strike get your domain today and get a free trial of gocentral. Build a better website in under an hour. I love you. Weve seen from the white house, from the president , an effort to try to undermine the credibility of the independent investigation being done by the Department Of Justice under mr. Mueller. By attacking the Justice Department and the fbi, the president is attempting to discredit the Russia Investigation and protect himself and his family. From connecticut, maryland, and hawaii, democrats in the senate today expressing concerns over republican attempts to discredit this Russia Investigation. As we mentioned, President Trump met today with the man overseeing the investigation about the Controversial House Intelligence Committee dueling memos. Chief of staff john kelly addressed the president s meeting with Rod Rosenstein earlier today. Had a great conversation, help the president understand the differences between the first memo, second memo. Are you leaning toward
releasing it . No, i would say, this is a different memo than the first one. Its lengthier. Its different. So not leaning toward it, it will be done in a responsible way. But at the end of it all, it will be guys like Rod Rosenstein, chris wray from fbi, certainly the National Security attorneys at the white house given the president s recommendation on it. Remains to be seen if all that will hold, if those recommendations will affect the outcome. Doj and fbi, youll recall, strongly advised against releasing the first memo, the republican memo. Trump did so anyway, a decision he appeared to reach before he read it. Meanwhile, one of President Trumps former allies is getting ready to testify to the Mueller Investigation. Nbc news has confirmed steve bannon will answer questions next week. You may recall he was supposed to be back on capitol hill today to testify in front of house intel, but as was predicted by a member of that committee on this
broadcast just last night, thats now been postponed for a third time. A source tells nbc news the white house is Forbidding Bannon to speak until they agree to the scope of the questioning. Here to talk about it with us, Jeremy Peters, political reporter for the New York Times, and an msnbc contributor. And Amber Phillips, political reporter for the fix at the Washington Post. So, amber, i keep Hearing Republicans say that this democratic memo has been loaded up with stuff, facts, sources and methods that will need to be edited out, covered up, redacted and make it seem like its a tougher job for the white house, make it seem like it faced scrutiny the gop memo did not. Yeah, i think thats a fair point to make, brian. Theres a little bit of irony in the white house and republicans who champion the first memo, saying, giving deference to the Justice Department, intelligence
committee, whether to release this Second Democratic memo, gone they released the first memo as you just pointed out over the extraordinarily public and firm objections from the fbi and the Justice Department. Saying releasing the first memo would be extremely reckless. It is pretty clear trump is in a difficult situation right now. Does he release a memo that we can fully expect undermines his argument and his argument is simple, that the fbi was politically motivated in starting the Russia Investigation, this gop memo proves it, so the Russia Investigation is a hoax. Democrats say, wait, wait, wait, we have ten pages that show basically none of that is true, and heres our evidence. You know, its arguable that they have a case to make. We havent seen this memo, but already the author of the first memo, the republican memo, has basically conceded that, yes, they got a fact wrong, that the fbi did tell a fisa court that
there were political intentions and money behind a dossier that relied on, in part, to spy on a Trump Campaign adviser. So, jeremy, i hear the other night somebody accused nunes of using Tail Gunner Joe language when he said were going to keep going, there were things he wanted to expose involving the state department. Where does this kind of republican report, then democratic rebuttal, this circle, end . You know, i dont know that it ends with anything conclusive for the american people, brian, because, again, its just a game of he said she said. If you are predisposed to believe republicans and President Trump, youre going to believe whats in the first report. If you want to believe what the democrats are saying, youre going to believe whats in the report that comes out tomorrow. And there are going to be some issues with that report. That the democrats are seeking to release, or they hope to release. I dont know that it will be tomorrow. But they are crafty enough to include things in there that they know will have to be redacted. So, therefore, when the report is released, it will include these redactions and democrats can point to it and say, see, see, the republicans and President Trump are hiding things from you. And we know that President Trump is leaning toward redacting some information in there when he allows the release of it because my colleagues have reported that in the New York Times today. Now, the separate issue, of course, is overredaction and whether or not President Trump will exclude information in there that is politically embarrassing to him. I think we have every reason to believe he will do just that. Jeremy, youve traditionally had some onpoint reporting about mr. Bannon. Whats up with mr. Bannon in light of both house intel and the Mueller Investigation . Brian, what i think is going to end up happening is what happened the last time steve bannon was asked to testify before the house intelligence committee. He will stonewall. He will stonewall because his
approach to the committee is wholly consistent with the white houses approach, which is lets not give them too much information. This investigation is not as serious or as legitimate as the Mueller Investigation, so, therefore, we will cooperate fully or at least much in a much more cooperative way with with the Mueller Investigation because they want to appear as if they have nothing to hide. So steve bannon will sit down with mueller, he will speak to him, he will answer questions. And do so in a more forthright manner, i imagine, than he would with the house intelligence committee. Amber, this next question may call for a judgment on your part, but this is about Customer Service for the american people. What do you think will be the subject of the next Signing Ceremony at the white house . What will be the next substantive piece of legislation to come out of that congress and get signed by the president , do you think . Im going to actually go
positive route and say that there is a excuse me, a bill that the house passed today, im going to be optimistic, i should say, revamping basically the way congress handles Sexual Harassment allegations. In light of all, you know, me too movement, and so far, eight members of congress have lost their job or resigned. That passed the house today. Was little noticed under all this other controversy by basically broad bipartisan support. My sources in the house tell me that the senate was waiting for the house to act and is considering very seriously taking this piece of legislation up. Trump is always a wildcard in any kind of legislation, but so far, house lawmakers are kind of optimistic that this will actually get to the president s desk and get signed and something will change that i think everyone in america can agree needs to be changed. So im going to go optimistic on that front, but i also see your point that that wasnt even noticed today because we are talking about shutdowns and
immigration and the Russia Investigation. And a lot of that is trumps doing. Well, thank you for that answer. As we thank Jeremy Peters and Amber Phillips for coming back on the broadcast with us. Always a pleasure. Thank you, both. And coming up for us, how do you prepare for a special counsel interview with a man whos bragged about his use of something he calls truthful hyperbole . Well ask the man who sat down with president bill clinton. Thats ahead when we continue. Are you going to talk to mueller . Im looking forward to it, actually. Do you a date set . No. I guess youre talking about two or three weeks but i would love to do it. In person . Again, i have to say, subject to my lawyers and all of that. I would love to do it. Just about two weeks after President Trump made those comments audioonly to reporters in the doorway in the west wing, we have learned where the president s lawyers stand courtesy of the New York Times and their reporting that all but one member of his legal team is against a trump sitdown with mueller for fear of false statements, contradictions and legal jeopardy. Here with us tonight to talk about all of it, sol wisenberg, deputy independent counsel for the Whitewater Lewinsky investigation. He was chosen by ken starr to conduct the grand jury questioning of president bill clinton. We welcome to the broadcast mimi rocah, former attorney for the Southern District of new york. Currently a distinguished fellow and Criminal Justice at the pace
university school of law. Sol, because these are two such different characters and very different men, is there any constant that is transferable, a standard that would apply to the questioning of one, and ergo, to the other . Well, for any investigation like this and any questioning like this, you obviously want to be totally prepared. And muellers got a great experienced, brilliant crew with him. The most important thing i think that assuming this questioning takes place, either informally or at the grand jury, lets say it happens informally, most important thing is to not have Time Constraint on it. To make it clear theres not going be a time limitation on the questioning. Thats number one. Number two, is to serve notice on the president that hes going to answer every question unless he claims a privilege. He will not be allowed to do
what president clinton did and say, theres certain things im not going to answer, even though im not i am not invoking the privilege. And the message needs to be loud and clear that if you refuse to answer a question and dont invoke a privilege, youre going to get a forthwith subpoena, and youre going to go down to the grand jury. Sol, i hate to sound cynical, lets pretend im not talking about the president. Wouldnt it be a dandy strategy for the principal to say, yeah, im very anxious to talk to them, i cant wait to talk to them, and then later at a later date say, you know what, my lawyers say i just cant, i shouldnt be doing this. Well, look, if you have a any normal client, whitecollar client in the president s position, in the sense that the president is either a subject or a target here. You would never let a normal client go in for questioning even if you were with them, and if a normal client in that position was subpoenaed, you would invoke your Fifth Amendment right. The real question here is, can the president pull it off . Can the president go in front of the american people, if he
decides to invoke the Fifth Amendment, and say, look, heres why im doing it. The Supreme Court has said the Fifth Amendment protects the innocent as well as the guilty. Ive said from the beginning this is an unfair witch hunt of an investigation. And im not going to subject myself to it. Okay. Anyone can pull that off, donald trump can. Well done, counselor. Mimi, by way of welcoming you to the broadcast, what im going to do is play something that happened in this room on this network today. Nicolle wallace had a couple journalists with her on the show. Asked them all about tips for interviewing donald trump. Well talk about it on the other side. In terms of talking to the president , hes a very, very difficult person to interrupt. He likes to talk. He goes on and on. He talks about a lot of different subjects. He jumps from one thing to the other. The most obvious thing in the world, again, this is not good advice to bob mueller, if you want him to be expansive, flattery. Doesnt have to the most egregious flattery. Just Say Something to him that makes him feel, that plays to his vanity. Its also important to not that the camera on. I found that President Trump is different at times when theres a camera in the room, versus when youre there as a Print Reporter with a pad. Hes not playing to the camera, theres no camera there, when youre doing a printonly interview. Sometimes he gives sharper answers. He plays to the room. Once he feels comfortable, he can change his tone and tenor depending who hes talking to. Its a different donald trump, in trump tower, versus donald trump you see on the stage of a rally. Counselor, i recognize that all that is advice is transferable to Robert Mueller who cant walk in and say mr. President , i love what youre doing with your hair. Having said that, how do you pin down a subject like donald trump . I think this goes to a basic point of know your witness. Obviously mueller and his team know donald trump not just in the way we see him publicly but they know him through sources that we dont have access to. So they really are going to know him. Through emails, through
communications, you know, texts, documents, going pretty far back. At this point, they may know things about him he doesnt even remember and theyre going it be meticulous in learning those facts and being so familiar with them and thats going to be their best tool because thats going to enable them to really pin him down and not let him just dodge the questions. I agree that some of these tools, i mean, using flattery, this might be a much more friendly interview in some ways. Interviews like this can take a different tone. Even if theyre in a formal setting. They can be confrontational or be a little more friendly. I do think that that tone with him might work better and if they bring up hillary clinton, you know, that might really get them talking. Well, thats interesting. And is there, in your view, a Nucleus Question around which Everything Else rotates . Well, i mean, if were talking about obstruction, which is one area, which some people tend to forget, theres a whole big other piece of this investigation that theyre going to want to talk about and get to
the bottom of. If were talking about obstruction, its going to be what did donald trump know and when did he know it, and what was he thinking when he fired jim comey . What was his intent . For example, theyre going to want to know, did he know, you know, that flynn had lied to the fbi . And remember, flynns cooperating now, so theyve already talked to flynn about this. And thats a very important part of how this is going to work when theyre interviewing him or questioning him. Because they already have a set of answers from flynn. And so theyre going to compare those answers and, you know, see which ones make the most sense really. What a harrowing business you guys work in. Counselor and counselor, our thanks. Wed like to continue this very same broadcast by having you back on. Sol wisenberg, mimi rocah, terrific thanks on a tuesday night. Coming up here, the time until the start of the Winter Olympics in pyeongchang, south korea, can now be measured in hours. Question is, whats north korea saying about our president these
days . More on that when we come back. With regard to any interaction with the north korean delegation, i have not requested a meeting, but well see what happens. See that door open a little bit . Once again, a member of Donald Trumps administration has declined to rule out the possibility of meeting with north korean officials while in south korea. For the Winter Olympics. Both press secretary Sarah Huckabee sanders and secretary of state tillerson have given a well see response when asked about the chance with a sitdown between pence and anyone from north korea. But u. S. State Department SpokespersonHeather Nauert took a stronger term today from the podium about the possibility of any contact. There are no plans to meet with any north korean officials during or after the olympics. I want to be clear about that. There are no plans to do so. There is no shift in u. S. Policy regarding this. North korea must once and for all abandon its desire for Nuclear Weapons and also for ballistic missiles. Do away with that desire. Stop. And then, perhaps, wed be willing to come to the table and have a conversation with them about it. Questions about a meeting come as relations between the u. S. And the north are under pressure. Just last week the president hosted north korean defectors at the white house, to which north koreas official Party Newspaper responded calling trump, quote, doltlike in his behavior among other things. With us to talk about it tonight, we welcome Bill Richardson back to the broadcast. Former congressman, cabinet secretary, new mexico governor, u. S. Ambassador to the u. N. With years of experience dealing with the north including a hostage release. Governor, what do you make of the possibility of mike pence sitting down with north koreans across from him . Well, if they did meet, it
would be a very positive step. Not going to negotiate denuclearization, but both are very highlevel individuals. The Vice President , kim yongnam who ive met before, hes basically the Vice President. Ceremonial position. But the fact that hes leading the delegation from north korea to the olympics i think is significant. Even if he doesnt talk to the Vice President , he might meet with some south korean officials on human rights issues, on family reunification, on job creation at the border. Theyve shut down a joint facility that employs north koreans and south koreans. So its a positive step, but it seems that the administration is is in a contradictory Foreign Policy toward north korea. On the one hand, theyre floating the idea of a meeting. On the other hand, theyre saying its not going to happen. So i think the Administration Needs to speak with one voice. My hope that voice is the state department. I like the fact that the Vice President kind of left the door open. I think a meeting would be a good step. Not going to renew a relationship with north korea, but at least ease the huge tensions that exist today. So, governor, is that another way of saying that, of course, the underlying theme of the olympics is supposed to be good will among people and between nations . Take advantage of that during this very special window with the olympics, what, 60 miles south of the border. Yes, and you recall how we opened the relationship with china. It was pingpong diplomacy, then secret meetings, kissinger and the chinese, and then led to president nixon meeting with how intra how zay tong and chinese leaders. So its a forerunner of soft power leading to serious negotiations. And i think it was a brilliant move on the part of the north koreans to bring in their delegation to work with the south koreans, compete with them, and then the south korean president , if you recall, he was elected on the premise that he wanted to open a better relationship with north korea to ease the tension. So there are some good developments despite all this heated rhetoric and the president s state of the Union Address and a lot of the talk about a preemptive military strike, which i think is not going to work. Its you can just see the olympics right there. 125 south koreans, american troops, if theres a nuclear holocaust, or theres a missile or artillery, i mean, theres going to be a lot of destruction. The koreans love the north koreans love a Military Parade. I thought of you tonight when this Washington Post story came out that the president wants something similar in washington. You see any danger to that on the american side . Well, yeah, i dont know if i know the president s very very promilitary, and, you know, any way we can highlight our own military, i think it makes a lot of sense. But to have a parade similar to the ones that exist in many in north korea and other countries, i dont know if that makes a lot of sense. But, you know, the president is the head of the military. The head of our armed forces. He could pretty much tell them whatever he wants. Governor, thanks for always coming on to talk with us. We appreciate it. Former new mexico governor Bill Richardson. Thank you. With us tonight from there. Coming up for us, the president s comments on democrats and treason earn him a sharp rebuke from a fellow republican. Well talk about that on the other side of this break. Renew your sense of wonder. Renein the caribbean. Onder. For a limited time enjoy two free perks, like complimentary wifi and drinks. A savings up to 300 when you book now, during the Celebrity Cruises sail beyond event. Mr. President , words matter. Have we arrived at such a place of numb acceptance that we have nothing to say when a president of the United States casually suggests that those who choose not to stand or applaud his speech are guilty of treason . I certainly hope not. Outgoing republican incumbent senator jeff flake of arizona took to the u. S. Senate floor today for a second time in four months to call out this president for what flake called aberrant destructive behavior. Flake was not the only member of congress to voice displeasure with the president s comments that democrats who didnt clap for him were potentially treasonous. Yesterday illinois democratic senator tammy duckworth, a retired Army Lieutenant colonel who lost both of her legs in iraq wrote on twitter, quote, we dont live in a dictatorship or a monarchy. I swore an oath in the military and in the senate to preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States, not to mindlessly cater to the whims of Cadet Bone Spurs and clap when he demands i clap. We welcome to our broadcast, dan nowicki. National political reporter for the astds republic. Dan, right Out Of The Box i may ask you for an opinion. Or perhaps you have polling. What percentage of arizonans do you think support the words of jeff flake in the Senate Chamber today . Well, i think democrats and probably a lot of independents support his words. He has big problems with his own republicans, so much so they abandoned his reelection bid this year. But flakes kind of a man without a party when it comes to donald trump because hes angered the republicans by his constant criticism, and he really hasnt won over too many democrats. They like his speeches but he votes closely with the trump agenda so he doesnt get much credit from the left so hes in the middle there. You have such an interesting Senate Delegation with flake and mccain. There you are as a border state, front row seat on immigration. Where do you think Arizonans Stand on the Immigration Debate were witnessing and we cover here every night . Well, its kind of interesting when you look at arizona, since we have kind of a sophisticated view of immigration, the border wall is not really popular in arizona. Its popular with trumps base and the republicans, but people who live near the border, ranchers, they dont necessarily
agree that a border wall is the best solution. So senator mccain came in with a bipartisan bill yesterday, not really sure where its going to go. It seems like its dead on arrival and jeff flakes been working with Bipartisan Group with Lindsey Graham and dick durbin. I dont think they thought mccains bill was very helpful. Since theyve been trying to come to an agreement with the trump administration. Its probably going to have to include some border wall funding. They dont necessarily like it in the Bipartisan Group but i think theyve come to accept it. And finally because we dont get a report from the front often, how did the last Government Shutdown go over in arizona and how is the idea of potentially another one apt to go down in arizona . Well, i think it was pretty quiet, the partial shutdown basically happened over the weekend. There was a lot of finger pointing in the senate race to replace jeff flake. It was the subject of a lot of talk but i dont think it had much lasting impact. Nobody seems to really be expecting a shutdown to actually happen this week. I think people will be pretty surprised if it happens again. I want to thank you very much for, as i called it, a report from the front and the American Southwest tonight. Dan nowicki, we appreciate you being on our broadcast with us, National Political reporter for the arizona republic. Coming up, a report from space as we wonder who there is to help us with some things here on earth. Build a better website in under an hour. Free to try. No credit card required. Gocentral from godaddy. Last thing before we go tonight is about what we witnessed in florida today. An immigrant to this country cemented his status as a leader in science and technology whose name may indeed belong alongside those of edison and jobs. But another way, elon musk told showed the world how its done. Spacex, the company he started, launched the biggest rocket ever shot off since the Moon Missions from nasas launch pad 39a where we launched the mission to the moon. Eight minutes after launch both Side Booster Rockets came back Down To Earth and landed on land in florida at the same time. A colossal feat of engineering. And think about the gulf between
elon musk and all that he can imagine and build and the parts of our lives that dont have an elosk musk to care for them. Today in maryland a highspeed amtrak train came apart at 120 miles an hour. It just came apart. Amtrak prefers the phrase decoupling, like a celebrity divorce. A fatal accident this past weekend killed two workers when a train was on the wrong track. Its all preventable. The technology is there. Highspeed trains around the world are over twice as fast as ours because theres no elon musk to care about our trains. The New York City Subway System is an assault on the human senses. Every ride, every day. And yet for millions its become normal, because there is no elon musk to care enough to make it any better. And heres an American Airlines timetable from 1961. New york to l. A. , faster than it is on todays schedule with
delays factored in. Our jet planes still fly at the same speed as they did in the eisenhower era because theres no elon musk to make them any better or faster. One final note about elon musk, the inventor of tesla. He sent his own Tesla Into Space today just for fun. So theres now a car, his own red tesla roadster, Hurtling Through Space at 18,000 miles an hour with a Mannequin Astronaut at the wheel named starman. On the car stereo is space oddity by bowie. Ground control to major tom is playing on a loop while the Car Transitions into an elliptical orbit of the earth and mars. And there on the dashboard it says dont panic. Elon musk, ladies and gentlemen. Thats our broadcast for tonight. Thank you so much for being here with us. Good night from nbc news headquarters in new york