SpaceX’s Bold New Goal: A Living City on the Moon, Says Elon Musk
For years, we have heard predictions that humans will soon live on the Moon. This week, that prediction suddenly felt a lot more real than ever. Yes, it sounded less like science fiction and more like a real plan. All of this was made possible by SpaceX, led by Elon Musk. Under his leadership, they have quietly changed their space priorities from Mars to the Moon.
For a long time, Mars has made the headlines. But not now. Elon Musk recently spoke about this shift as humanity’s backup planet. This one move made the Moon SpaceX’s ultimate goal. Colonizing Mars was not just a vision. It was the mission on which SpaceX was working tirelessly. But over the weekend, Musk revealed a bit about their bold shift. Now, SpaceX is focusing on building what Musk called a “self-growing city” on the Moon. He believes this could be achieved in less than 10 years.
Elon Musk shared this update on his social media platform X this weekend. He said the main goal of this shift is to secure the future of human civilization. And the moon offers a faster solution than Mars. SpaceX still plans to work on a Mars city within five to seven years. The moon is now the top priority. The reason for this bold move is simple. The Moon is closer to Mars. This one difference has changed everything.
This shift also grabbed more attention because Musk once dismissed the Moon entirely. In January 2025, he stated that SpaceX would go directly to Mars and called the Moon a distraction. For him at that time, Mars was a golden dream, and the moon barely mattered. But not anymore. The moon, just three days away from Earth, is the smarter and faster place to start with, according to Musk.
A recent Wall Street Journal report said SpaceX plans to prioritize the lunar mission and work on Mars later. A few months before this shift, Musk announced that an uncrewed Mars mission could launch by the end of 2026. And now the report revealed that the company is targeting March 2027 for an uncrewed landing on the Moon
Well, Elon Musk is famous for bold promises and tight timelines. His projects, from self-driving cars to humanoid robots, have taken longer than expected. The reality of space exploration is complex. Musk must remember that rockets, fuel systems, and human safety do not follow social media schedules. Still, many experts agree that using the Moon as a testing ground makes Mars easier.
The story does not end here. This is a larger global context, too. The USA is racing against China to return humans to the Moon this decade.
Since Apollo 17 in 1972, no astronaut has set foot on the Moon’s surface. China has laid a clear plan for a long-term presence there and is raising the stakes. In that setting, SpaceX is now focusing on lunar and has closely aligned with US space goals.
That’s where NASA comes into the picture. SpaceX is a key contractor in NASA’s Artemis program. It holds a contract valued at about $4 billion to land astronauts on the Moon using its Starship rocket. Musk says NASA will account for less than 5% of SpaceX’s annual revenue this year. Starlink has become SpaceX’s commercial engine.
Additionally, on Sunday, Musk shared SpaceX’s first-ever Super Bowl advertisement. He promoted Starlink as a consumer product. This unpredictable move showed how central Starlink has become to the company’s growth and further.
Financially, SpaceX is also preparing for a new phase. The company is reportedly considering a public offering later this year that could raise up to $50 billion. If it happens, it would be the largest IPO in history. A clear and nearer-term Moon strategy may be easier for investors to believe in than a distant Mars settlement.
Musk is reshaping more than just SpaceX. At Tesla, he is pushing a shift away from electric cars toward autonomous driving and humanoid robots. Tesla plans to spend $20 billion this year on that transition and is ending production of two car models to make room for its Optimus robots.
For now, the Moon has taken center stage. Even due a self-growing city still sounds ambitious. With SpaceX changing direction, the idea of humans living on the Moon no longer feels like a sci-fi. It feels more like something that might actually be next.
