Musk clips his Mars settlement ambition, aims for the moon instead [View all]

Source: CNN

Musk clips his Mars settlement ambition, aims for the moon instead

Updated Feb 9, 2026, 3:56 PM ET
PUBLISHED Feb 8, 2026, 11:26 PM ET
By Jackie Wattles, Hadas Gold, John Liu

Elon Musk’s ambition to one day settle Mars appears to have taken a back seat to a rather nearer and more achievable goal – sending humans to live on the moon.

In a statement on X on Sunday, the billionaire said his company SpaceX has now shifted its priorities to building “a self-growing city on the Moon,” arguing that it could be achieved in less than a decade, compared with more than 20 years for a similar plan on Mars.

“The overriding priority is securing the future of civilization and the Moon is faster,” he said on X Sunday. “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).”

It is not immediately clear what Musk meant by a “self-growing city” or whether his plans are in line with a similar lunar plan NASA proposes. CNN has reached out to SpaceX for comment.

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Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2026/02/08/science/elon-musk-spacex-priorities-moon-intl-hnk

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Musk is pivoting. SpaceX plans to go public later this year, and he needs a new shiny object to attract investors' money.

It should not be forgotten how he said he could land humans on Mars within a decade... back in 2011.

SpaceX is also under contract to provide a moon lander for the Artemis III mission, with an uncrewed demo optimistically planned for 2027.