SpaceX founder Elon Musk has announced that the company is shifting its primary focus to building a “self-growing” city on the Moon.
He described it as a faster path toward securing the future of human civilization.
Musk made this known through a post on X, where he explained that while Mars remains part of SpaceX’s long-term vision, the Moon currently offers more practical and achievable conditions for rapid development.
In the post seen by Dockaysworld, Musk said a Moon city could be completed in less than 10 years, compared to a Mars city which he noted would take more than 20 years to fully realize.
“The mission of SpaceX remains the same: extend consciousness and life as we know it to the stars,” he wrote.
He explained that missions to Mars are only possible when Earth and Mars align every 26 months, with a journey lasting about six months, while launches to the Moon can occur every 10 days with a travel time of roughly two days.
“The overriding priority is securing the future of civilization and the Moon is faster,” Musk added.
According to Musk, this flexibility would allow SpaceX to iterate faster, test technologies more frequently, and complete a Moon city sooner than a Mars settlement.
He added that SpaceX will still pursue plans to build a city on Mars, with early efforts expected to begin within the next five to seven years, but stressed that the Moon remains the overriding priority for now.
Musk’s comments mark a shift from his long-standing public emphasis on Mars colonisation, a vision he has repeatedly promoted over the years as essential to making humanity a multi-planetary species.
