Elon Musk is doing more for getting us to Mars then any other individual on the planet.

Listen to this song and tell me again how a few rich people going to the Moon or Mars is a good thing?

Or read some of this about Elon and tell me how he's such a benefit to society:

In an interview with The Washington Post, Musk stated he was a "significant (though not top-tier) donor to Democrats," but that he also gives heavily to Republicans. Musk further stated, "in order to have your voice be heard in Washington, you have to make some little contribution."

The dude's just playing his own game of gathering wealth to himself - just like the previous generation of billionaires that built the oil companies and exploit the world for resources. Any good he does regarding climate change is practically by accident - he's just pragmatic about reality and saw a way to build a new business empire and build a good public image.