---
title: "Elon Musk Jokes About Mars Colonists Dying Horribly"
description: "During his SNL hosting gig, Elon Musk starred in a sketch where Mars colonists were dying horrible deaths due to asphyxiation."
date: "2021-05-09"
modified: "2021-05-09"
authors:
  - name: "Tony Ho Tran"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/ttran"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-jokes-mars-colonists-dying-horribly"
categories:
  - "Astronomy"
  - "Elon Musk"
  - "Future Society"
  - "Mars"
  - "Space"
  - "The Industrialists"
tags:
  - "elon musk"
  - "mars"
  - "saturday night live"
  - "the digest"
---

# Elon Musk Jokes About Mars Colonists Dying Horribly

![Elon Musk Jokes About Mars Colonists Dying Horribly](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/maxresdefault-1.jpeg>)
*Saturday Night Live via YouTube \<em\>Image: Saturday Night Live via YouTube\</em\>*

## Chad to the Rescue

Elon Musk’s hotly anticipated episode of Saturday Night Live was [filled with surprises](<https://futurism.com/elon-musk-reveals-aspergers-snl-monologue>), [awkward moments](<https://futurism.com/elon-snl-reviews-reactions>), and the occasional laugh — but one of the better sketches of the night had the SpaceX founder joking about Mars colonists dying a horrible and painful death.

The sketch, titled "[Chad on Mars](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuaDWyCnJxs>)," showcased Musk playing himself as he attempts to save a desperate colony on Mars from certain doom as their oxygen level runs out. Luckily, there’s a hero willing to sacrifice themselves for the colony: Chad, played by Pete Davidson.

You can check out the full sketch below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuaDWyCnJxs

## "I Was Never Here."

While the sketch was funny, it was a bit uncomfortable if you consider the broader implications of it. There was Musk, the head of a private space travel company, openly joking about people who trust him with their lives dying horrific deaths on Mars.

It’s further punctuated with the ending kicker when the billionaire quickly heads for the exits following Chad’s death.

"Well, I did say people were going to die," the Tesla CEO said in the sketch. "I was never here."

On the one hand, it's refreshing to see a CEO who can joke about his own business. But while there can be moments for levity, we should remember that there is an actual human cost of space travel. Plus, the clip might come back to haunt him if Mars astronauts ever die in the course of their mission.

In any case, it was one of the better sketches for Musk and it allowed him to easily slip into a role he knows all too well: Himself.

**More on Elon’s SNL gig:** [*Elon Musk Reveals That He Has Asperger’s in SNL Monologue*](<https://futurism.com/elon-musk-reveals-aspergers-snl-monologue>)

## Author
Tony Tran is a former reporter for Futurism, and now an editor at the Daily Beast. His work has been seen in Playboy, HuffPost, Narratively, and wherever else fine writing is published. He lives in Chicago where he frequently plans tabletop gaming sessions for his friends.