Whether it's through space or in a car, South African-born innovator Elon Musk has made such a profound impact on the future of travel that any time he speaks, the world listens; which is why there was so much hype over his recent remarks before a crowd at the International Astronautical Congress in Australia. The 46-year-old SpaceX CEO unveiled a revised plan to send humans to Mars in 2024 by way of SpaceX's revolutionary reusable rockets. And while the news was exciting, Musk left his biggest punch for the end of his talk when he announced his plans to allow passengers to take “most long-distance trips” in a mere 30 minutes, and go “anywhere on Earth in under an hour” for around the same price an economy airline ticket goes for on an international flight. And he plans to do this by using the same Mars-traveling technology right here on Earth.

A promotional video shows New Yorkers boarding a vessel in a Manhattan dock. The group walks past an electric board which reads “New York to Shanghai” before it indicates a travel time of “39 minutes.” The vessel then cuts through the water as it approaches a SpaceX rocket, which is located atop a floating platform. After the passengers board the rocket, it blasts into orbit around the Earth, reaching a top speed of roughly 16,800 m.p.h. before safely landing on a platform off the coast of Shanghai.

Just to make the concept that much more appealing, SpaceX included a few other travel times between cities: Hong Kong to Singapore in 22 minutes, London to Dubai or New York in 29 minutes, and Los Angeles to Toronto in 24 minutes. And if the city-to-city rockets are about the same size as those intended for Mars, it would appear each trip would consist of 80 to 200 travelers. While these wildly impressive times are exciting, many outstanding questions remain, such as the comfort level for passengers being hurled through the Earth's orbit at terrifying speeds of 16,800 m.p.h.

While both the rocket seen in the video and the spaceship for moon and Mars travel are still theoretical, Musk did announce that he plans to begin construction on them in the next six to nine months.