Elon Musk said Sunday that SpaceX was shifting its near-term priorities from Mars to building what it described as a “self-growing city” on the Moon, citing faster timelines and strategic urgency.
“For those who don’t know, EspaceX has already shifted its focus to building a self-sustaining city on the Moon, as we can potentially achieve this in less than 10 years, while Mars would take over 20 years,” Musk wrote in an article on X.
“THE SpaceX mission remains the same: extending consciousness and life as we know it to the stars,” he added.
Musk said the Moon offers a more practical testing ground because of its proximity to Earth.
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A crane, marked with the SpaceX logo, stands near the Starbase launch site in Cameron County, Texas, February 6, 2026. (Reginald Mathalone/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“It’s only possible to travel to Mars when the planets align every 26 months (six-month travel time), whereas we can launch to the Moon every 10 days (2-day travel time). This means we can iterate much faster to complete a lunar city than a Martian city,” Musk wrote.
He said SpaceX still plans to pursue its long-held goal of colonizing Mars, but on a longer timeline.
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“That said, SpaceX will also work to build a city on Mars and will begin doing so in about 5-7 years, but the top priority is ensuring the future of civilization and the Moon is faster,” Musk wrote.
The comments echo a recent Wall Street Journal report that SpaceX told investors it would prioritize lunar missions before attempting a Mars landing, targeting March 2027 for an uncrewed lunar mission.
SpaceX’s next-generation Starship spacecraft atop its Super Heavy booster launches during its ninth test at the company’s launch pad at Starbase, Texas, on May 27, 2025. (Reuters/Joe Skipper)
The move marks a notable departure from Musk’s long-standing focus on Mars as SpaceX’s primary destination. As recently as last year, Musk said the company aimed to launch an uncrewed Mars mission by the end of 2026.
“No, we’re going straight to Mars. The Moon is a distraction,” Musk wrote in January last year in response to an article on X.
Musk has long set ambitious timelines for big projects — including electric vehicles and self-driving technologies — that have often exceeded their original schedules.
The renewed interest in the Moon comes as the United States faces growing competition from China to return humans to the lunar surface this decade. Humans have not visited the Moon since NASA’s Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
Musk has a long track record of setting ambitious timelines for big projects. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
These remarks also come against a backdrop of major financial and strategic changes at SpaceX. Less than a week ago, Musk announced that SpaceX had acquired artificial intelligence company xAI – which he also runs – in a deal valuing SpaceX at $1 trillion and xAI at $250 billion.
Supporters of the move say it could bolster SpaceX’s long-term plans for space data centers, which Musk said could be more energy efficient than terrestrial facilities as demand for AI computing power increases.
SpaceX is also preparing for a possible public offering later this year that could raise as much as $50 billion, potentially making it the largest IPO in history.
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On Monday, Musk said in response to an
“The vast majority of SpaceX’s revenue comes from the Starlink commercial system,” Musk wrote.
Reuters contributed to this report.