Have you followed the planning for the Mars mission? The plan is to launch drone ships that will contain habitat and supplies that will be there when the colonists arrive. I fully expect that there will be a thriving colony there by 2030.
Every time someone expresses some sort of doubt about Elon's capabilities it's like a "hold my beer" challenge to him. He WILL get people on MARS, alive and well. And if there is a tragedy then we chalk it up to the cost of human exploration.