Asger Risom
SpaceX’s long-promised vision of humanity becoming multi-planetary appears to be shifting again.
Fresh remarks from Elon Musk suggest the company’s near-term ambitions now lie much closer to Earth.
Elon Musk says SpaceX is now prioritising the creation of a “self-growing city” on the Moon, marking a notable shift from his long-standing focus on sending humans to Mars.
In a post on X over the weekend, Musk said the Moon offers faster launch cycles and quicker development timelines, allowing SpaceX to iterate more rapidly than would be possible with missions to the red planet.
The comments contrast sharply with Musk’s earlier claims that SpaceX could land humans on Mars as early as 2026.
A change in focus
“It is only possible to travel to Mars when the planets align every 26 months,” Musk wrote, adding that the journey takes about six months. By comparison, he said, missions to the Moon can launch roughly every 10 days with a two-day travel time.
“This means we can iterate much faster to complete a Moon city than a Mars city,” he said.
The remarks suggest SpaceX is recalibrating its priorities after years of ambitious — and often delayed — timelines for interplanetary travel.
Past Mars promises
Musk has repeatedly pointed to Mars as the ultimate destination for human settlement. In 2020, he said he was confident SpaceX could land humans on Mars by 2026.
“If we get lucky, maybe four years,” Musk said at an awards event that year. “We want to send an uncrewed vehicle there in two years.”
SpaceX has since faced technical, regulatory and logistical hurdles that have pushed back several major milestones.
Mars still on the roadmap
Despite the apparent pivot, Musk said Mars remains part of SpaceX’s long-term plans. In his latest post, he wrote that work on a Mars city would continue, starting in five to seven years.
“But the overriding priority is securing the future of civilization and the Moon is faster,” he added.
Musk has previously argued that building self-sustaining off-world settlements is essential to humanity’s survival.
Bigger ambitions
The announcement comes shortly after Musk said SpaceX would acquire xAI, his artificial intelligence company behind the Grok chatbot. XAI bought the social media platform X in 2025.
Musk said the move would create “the most ambitious, vertically-integrated innovation engine on (and off) Earth,” combining AI, rockets, satellite internet and communications.
In a memo referenced in his post, Musk outlined plans for “self-growing bases” and factories on the Moon, alongside the longer-term goal of “an entire civilization on Mars.”
Sources: Business Insider, X
