> Why would he run for president, when he could quite possibly own a planet if he keeps moving forward with his Mars goals. Countries have armies. Armies enfor

> Why would he run for president, when he could quite possibly own a planet if he keeps moving forward with his Mars goals. Countries have armies. Armies enforce international (and eventually planetary) rights. Countries also make laws. Laws that Musk must follow or risk consequences. > If he establishes a base on mars, it is essentially his. Earth based countries are forbidden (in treaty at least) from claiming ownership of celestial bodies. What's to stop him declaring himself emperor of Mars. He’d be a paper emperor. No method or means of enforcing his claimed dominion. > The person that controls the flow of supplies to an isolated world is pretty much all powerful. Countries control the right to launch those supplies. Musk is a few steps below that in the chain of power.