Elon Musk has announced plans to launch a rocket to Mars in two years' time and send a manned mission to the red planet by 2024.

Musk made the ambitious headline-grabbing announcement at the invitation-only Code Conference organized by Recode out of California.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO said that if all goes according to plan, he plans to launch people on a flight path to Mars by 2024, with arrival in 2025.

Cargo deliveries to Mars can be launched much sooner -- within the next two years. Likewise, Musk said he plans to send SpaceX's Dragon II, about the size of an SUV, into space in 2018.

The South African engineer and entrepreneur said he will share more about his vision for colonizing Mars at a conference in September.

Hard to believe? The world’s learned the hard way that you shouldn’t doubt Elon Musk.