SpaceX Chief Elon Musk Predicts People on Mars in 9 Years

During an interview Wednesday at the Code Conference in southern California, Musk said that "we should be able to launch people in 2024, with arrival in 2025."

Musk also says he plans to go to space himself in about four to five years, but only into orbit around Earth.

Musk also runs Tesla Motors, which has been at the forefront of self-driving car technology. He says he sees Apple as more of a competitor than Google in the autonomous vehicle market, but suggests they may be too late to compete with Tesla.

He believes Apple will go into volume production of the cars no sooner than 2020.

Tesla Motors said Tuesday that two upcoming software updates should fix persistent glitches with the futuristic rear doors on its Model X SUV.

At Tesla's nearly four-hour shareholder meeting in Mountain View, California, Tesla CEO Elon Musk also hinted that buyers of the company's upcoming Model 3 car won't have access to free high-speed charging, as owners of Tesla's more expensive models do.

The Model X, which went on sale last fall, has "falcon-wing" doors that open upward and then swing out. Owners of the $80,000 SUV have complained that the doors don't always open or close.

Musk said software updates coming later this month and next month should fix the problem.