Elon Musk has made an extraordinary bid to 'control' Mars by implementing his own legal system.
The SpaceX and Twitter CEO has said that people who may travel to Mars via one of his ships will have to sign a contract saying they will not "refer to any Earthbound government or legal entity."
Speaking on the Merryn Talks Money podcast, Tim Marshall, author of The Future of Geography said that Musk is already including clauses in Starlink contracts that specify Space X is the ultimate legal authority on Mars
He added that that "Earthbound governments" have no legal authority on the Red Planet.
Elon Musk
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Marshall said: "By the way, in the Starlink terms and conditions that you sign now in 2024, it says 'in the event in the future that you are using our [Musk’s] kit on Mars and you have any legal issues, you will not refer to any Earthbound government or legal entity.
"'You will only take your dispute up with the legal entity on Mars' which I read to be Elon Musk."
It comes after Kyiv's main military intelligence agency said on Sunday that Russian forces in occupied Ukraine are using Starlink terminals produced by SpaceX for satellite internet.
Starlink has denied that it does any business of any kind with Russia's government or military.
Marshall said: "Musk and Putin have been playing this cat-and-mouse game for the last couple of years which is a brand new thing in warfare.
"Two sovereign countries at war with a third element in it which is not a state but a private company which is inadvertently assisting one side’s military causing the other side’s military to take what is essentially military action against it.
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Passengers to Mars may have to sign a disclaimer saying they will not "refer to any Earthbound government or legal entity"
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Marshall added: "I mean this is a new time and it’s something we’re going to have to get used to that’s the second element."
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian defence ministry's Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) spokesman Andriy Yusov said: "Cases of the Russian occupiers' use of the given devices have been registered. It is beginning to take on a systemic nature."
In a statement, the GUR said the terminals were being used by units like Russia's 83rd Air Assault Brigade, which is fighting near the embattled towns of Klishchiivka and Andriivka in the partially-occupied eastern region of Donetsk.
In a post on Sunday made on X, Musk said: "To the best of our knowledge, no Starlinks have been sold directly or indirectly to Russia. A number of false news reports claim that SpaceX is selling Starlink terminals to Russia...This is categorically false."
Last week Musk threw his support behind actor Gina Carano who has sued Walt Disney DIS.N for wrongful termination from the Star Wars series "The Mandalorian".
It follows Carano's claims that she was fired in 2021 for voicing conservative opinions on social media platforms including Twitter, which is now owned by Musk and known as X.
Carano, who played Cara Dune, is asking the court to order Disney's Lucasfilm unit to reinstate her in the role and seeks compensatory damages of up to $75,000 plus emotional distress and punitive damages to be determined at trial.
