SpaceX has shifted its immediate strategic emphasis toward establishing a "self-growing" settlement on the Moon, according to CEO Elon Musk, who said the effort could be realized in less than 10 years.
In a post on X on Sunday, Musk described the lunar city as a nearer-term priority for SpaceX, noting that travel times to the Moon are relatively shorter and therefore make it a more attractive short-term objective than Mars. In his post he wrote: "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 added that SpaceX will nonetheless continue to aim for a human settlement on Mars, saying the company will "strive to build a Mars city" and that work on that endeavour will begin in five to seven years.
Those comments arrive as SpaceX prepares for a public listing this year. The company has said the offering could raise $50 billion and value the firm at $1.5 trillion, which would make it the largest public offering in history if those figures are realized.
SpaceX, one of the largest private space contractors globally, has also announced corporate moves outside pure launch activity. The company said it will acquire Elon Musk's artificial intelligence venture xAI and has plans to pursue the construction of data centres in space.
Musk has long promoted Mars as a major objective for SpaceX. He reiterated ambitions for Mars in prior statements, including that he planned an unmanned mission to the red planet by the end of 2026. The company, however, has provided limited concrete updates on progress toward that specific Mars timeline.
Context and implications
The shift Musk describes places a nearer-term operational focus on lunar development while keeping Mars on SpaceX's multi-decade roadmap. The company is simultaneously moving toward a potential public offering and expanding into AI and space-based data infrastructure, according to the statements cited above.
Promotional note appearing in prior coverage: The original reporting referenced a valuation tool question for TSLA investors. That promotional element is not material to the strategic statements from Musk and SpaceX but was present in prior coverage.