SpaceX CEO Elon Musk seems to have changed his beliefs about the Moon and is now planning to colonise it first. In an X post on Monday, the billionaire confirmed shifting priorities from Mars to the Moon because it could be potentially occupied far sooner than the red planet – possibly in ten years.
“For those unaware, SpaceX has already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon, as we can potentially achieve that in less than 10 years, whereas Mars would take 20+ years,” Musk wrote. “The mission of SpaceX remains the same: extend consciousness and life as we know it to the stars.”
For those unaware, SpaceX has already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon, as we can potentially achieve that in less than 10 years, whereas Mars would take 20+ years.
The mission of SpaceX remains the same: extend consciousness and life as we know it to…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 8, 2026
He also explained the decision citing the frequency of trips to Mars as compared to the Moon – which is much more convenient and accessible.
“It is only possible to travel to Mars when the planets align every 26 months (six month trip time), whereas we can launch to the Moon every 10 days (2 day trip time). This means we can iterate much faster to complete a Moon city than a Mars city,” Musk added. He, however, assured that the ultimate objective still remains building a self-sustaining city on Mars and SpaceX would start working on it in about five to seven years.
What Elon Musk’s new goal means for SpaceX
This means that the world’s biggest rocket Starship that SpaceX is building may not launch to Mars in 2026 or even 2027 as planned before. Musk had announced last year that the first Starships would fly to Mars with Tesla’s Optimus robots to lay the foundation for eventual exploration by humans.
SpaceX had even signed an agreement with the Italian Space Agency to launch their payloads on first Mars-bound Starships.
The pivot to lunar surface also means Musk no longer considers the Moon a “distraction.” In early 2025, the billionaire said SpaceX is “going straight to Mars.” It also comes at a time when SpaceX is about to go public in mid to late 2026.
“The Moon is a distraction. Mass to orbit is the key metric, thereafter mass to Mars surface. The former needs to be in the megaton to orbit per year range to build a self-sustaining colony on Mars,” he posted on X.
Several private companies and national agencies from the US, China, Europe and India are in the race to the Moon and SpaceX is now a new player with an ambitious objective of its own. It is already supporting NASA’s Artemis Program aimed at establishing a sustainable human base on the lunar surface and has been awarded contracts worth $4 billion for the job. SpaceX is supposed to build Starships that would take astronauts from the lunar orbit to the lunar surface and back. They will then board the Orion spacecraft parked in the lunar orbit to return home.
ALSO READ: NASA Has 11 Reasons To Send Astronauts To Mars – Including Finding Life, Says Report
ALSO READ: ‘Mars Is Not A Great Place’: Avi Loeb Derides Elon Musk’s Colonisation Dream
