Elon Musk keeps popping up at SXSW

Tesla co-founder, SpaceX founder, and Hyperloop hype man Elon Musk surprised SXSW audiences twice this weekend, popping up to speak at a Westworld cast appearance Saturday and for a one-on-one interview by the HBO series co-creator Jonathan Nolan on Sunday.

Musk made his Saturday panel appearance following a sneak preview of the new Westworld season and a talk with series co-runner Lisa Joy and cast members Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, and James Marsden, according a Saturday Hollywood Reporter story. Musk spoke about the launch of his SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket and introduced a screening of a short film of the event made by Nolan, a longtime friend of Musk’s, according to the story.

On Sunday, Nolan interviewed Musk one-on-one at Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater, the Austin Business Journal reported, and addressed a range of subjects. The SpaceX lead designer predicted that a human landing on the Mars will open the floodgates for space-travel startups and said that his His SpaceX BFR (Big Falcon/Big Fucking rocket) is now under construction, ABJ reported, and could launch in 2019.

Musk also called for the regulation of artificial intelligence, calling it more dangerous than nuclear weaponry, and spoke about self-driving vehicles, saying that “by the end of next year, self-driving will encompass all modes of driving and be at least 100 to 200 percent safer than a person. We’re talking 18 months from now,” according to the ABJ story.

• SXSW: ‘Westworld’ Panel Teases Shogun World, Elon Musk Makes Surprise Appearance [The Hollywood Reporter]

• Elon Musk surprises SXSW — and talks Mars, AI threats and self-driving cars [Austin Business Journal]