Musk shifts SpaceX focus from Mars to the moon

Elon Musk said SpaceX is shifting its focus from Mars to creating a "self-growing city" on the Moon, arguing that launch cycles are much faster. "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)," Musk wrote.

"This means we can iterate much faster to complete a Moon city than a Mars city." The change marks a departure from Musk's earlier timeline for Mars. In 2020 he said the company could land humans on Mars by 2026: "If we get lucky, maybe four years," and added, "We want to send an uncrewed vehicle there in two years." SpaceX has often delayed ambitious projects because of complexity and regulatory challenges, and the company delayed the Artemis 2 moon mission last week.

Mars remains part of the plan, with work on a Mars city to begin in five to seven years, Musk said. Last week he also announced that SpaceX acquired his AI company, xAI; xAI purchased the social platform X in March 2025.

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