VICE TV announced VICE VERSA: Between Musk and Mars will premiere Monday, September 21 at 10 PM ET/PT on VICE TV. Elon Musk is the third-richest person in the world. Now, a new documentary sets out to investigate if the SpaceX founder and CEO can contend with a small group of retirees who say the eccentric billionaire is forcing them out of their homes to make way for his mission to colonize Mars.
He’s viewed as a visionary. But to the residents of Boca Chica, Elon Musk is a ruthless businessman. The sleepy hamlet on the southernmost tip of Texas is home to retirees who were looking forward to enjoying their golden years in this beach paradise. Then SpaceX came to town.
Founded in 2002 to revolutionize space technology, SpaceX and Musk arrived in Boca Chica in search of a place to launch rockets, build out a luxury resort, and eventually send one million people to Mars by 2050. In the process, Musk and SpaceX have been accused of wrecking the wildlife corridor and intimidating local retirees out of their homes and community. SpaceX and local officials maintain that Musk is bringing jobs and diversifying the economy of one of the poorest counties in the United States.
VICE VERSA: Between Musk and Mars providesan intimate look at the holdouts who refuse to leave the isolated village and the tactics SpaceX has been using to get them out of their homes. But as the star-gazing magnate moves forward with his vision for a Martian colony, some of the locals won’t cede their slice of Planet Earth without a fight.
“Elon Musk’s vision of the future is a gripping one” said Morgan Hertzan, Executive Vice President and General Manager, VICE TV. “Between Musk and Mars peels back the layers to uncover a David vs. Goliath story- what we are willing to sacrifice on Earth to achieve one man’s dreams on Mars?”
VICE VERSA: Between Musk and Mars is VICE TV’s fourth release of VICE VERSA, a new series of independent documentary specials that serve as a hub for compelling storytelling that challenges the status quo. Between Musk and Mars follows VICE VERSA: One Man and His Shoes, a deep dive into the global love affair with Nike’s Air Jordan sneakers, VICE Versa: Bernie Blackout, which investigated whether Bernie Sanders’ campaign for presidency was sabotaged by corporate media bias and the mainstream press, and VICE VERSA: Meghan Markle Escaping The Crown, which explored if institutionalized racism drove the U.K’s first black princess to flee the crown.
Directed and Produced by Eric Weinrib. Executive Producer is Beverly Chase. Catherine Whyte is Executive Vice President, Head of Production and Tara Nadolny is Executive Producer for VICE. Morgan Hertzan is Executive Vice President and General Manager, VICE Television. VICE VERSA: Between Musk and Mars will be available on VICE TV via all major satellite and cable providers; VICETV.com; and the VICE TV app via iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, and Chromecast.