Harvard professor Avi Loeb breaks silence on Elon Musk's remarks about interstellar object 3I/ATLAS

Harvard professor Avi Loeb recently reacted to Elon Musk’s remarks about the unusual nickel-to-iron ratio displayed in the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, made in an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. 

In a video by THE HANNIBAL TV, uploaded on November 2, 2025, Loeb opined that while Elon was correct about most asteroids having a high percentage of nickel, he missed out on noting that the objects are equally iron-rich.

“Of course, there are many asteroids that have a lot of nickel. In fact, when they collide with Earth, that’s the kind of location that you want to go to to get nickel. That’s entirely true,” Loeb mentioned.

He continued:

“But what he’s missing is that, along with these objects being nickel-rich, they are also iron-rich. In nature, we find nickel and iron together because they’re both produced in the same supernova explosions.” 

On Friday, Elon appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast, where he was asked about the anomalous composition of the interstellar object. He said that most comets and asteroids are made “primarily of nickel,” and produce nickel-rich deposits when they land on Earth. 

However, Loeb argued that comets and asteroids also have high percentages of iron, which did not apply to 3I/ATLAS. Moreover, he pointed out that the interstellar object was not “mostly nickel,” but was “mostly carbon dioxide on the surface.”

Understanding the anomalies in interstellar object 3I/ATLAS and Loeb’s opinion of Elon’s open-minded approach to the object

On the Joe Rogan podcast, Elon mentioned that asteroids and comets are primarily made of nickel when asked about the high nickel-to-iron ratio as studied in 3I/ATLAS. 

However, Loeb argued that while nickel was one of the components, asteroids and comets also contain a high percentage of iron. 

He explained that both nickel and iron are products of the “same supernova explosions of stars,” saying that the two cannot be produced in isolation.

“They come together. In fact, in the solar composition, there is more iron than nickel. So you really need to separate the nickel from the iron to get it to the proportion as observed in the plume of gas around the 3I/ATLAS,” he added.

Loeb then pointed out that the only place where such an "exaggerated proportion" of nickel relative to iron can be produced is through the industrial production of nickel alloys.

The “extreme abundance ratio” of nickel as compared to iron is one of the ten anomalies listed by Loeb. 

The unnatural composition is what makes 3I/ATLAS stand out from the other comets, including 2I/Borisov. It is one factor Loeb considers while contemplating the possibility of 3I/ATLAS having an unnatural or technological origin.

In the video, Loeb also mentioned that the 3I/ATLAS is not made primarily of nickel because, based on studies, its gas plume contains a high proportion of carbon dioxide and only 4% water by mass. 

This is listed as another anomaly on Loeb’s list, which questions the object’s natural origins. 

On the podcast, Elon did not classify 3I/ATLAS as either a comet or alien technology. Instead, he remained open to both outcomes. 

Loeb appreciated Elon’s approach, saying:

“That’s the right attitude to be open-minded. It’s a sign of humility. We shouldn’t assume that we know the answers in advance, and if something looks strange, you know, we should be curious and figure it out based on data.”

In contrast, he called out his critics for dismissing his open-mindedness and discussion of anomalies, and conclusively declaring the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS a comet. 

Stay tuned for more updates.