Elon Musk has scaled back his long-held ambition to settle Mars, saying SpaceX will now prioritize building a permanent human presence on the Moon, according to statements posted Sunday on X.
Musk argued that a “self-growing city” on the Moon could be achieved in under a decade, while a comparable Mars settlement would take more than 20 years. He cited faster travel times and more frequent launch windows as key reasons for the shift.
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.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 8, 2026
The mission of SpaceX remains the same: extend consciousness and life as we know it to…
Musk said SpaceX remains committed to Mars and could begin work there in five to seven years.
The change follows SpaceX’s recent acquisition of xAI and comes amid renewed focus on NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon by 2028.
SpaceX holds a nearly $3 billion NASA contract to build the Artemis III lunar lander using its Starship system. However, Starship remains in early testing and has faced repeated delays.
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