Mars can wait.
Elon Musk says SpaceX is dialing back its obsession with Mars and refocusing on the moon. In a post on X, Musk said the company’s new priority is building a “self-growing city” on the lunar surface.
It’s a pretty big pivot given his previous comments that Mars colonization is essential to humanity’s survival, and his past dismissal of NASA’s Moon-first Artemis program as a “distraction.” Now, SpaceX sits at the center of Artemis, holding a nearly $3B NASA contract to develop the lunar lander using Starship, the still-experimental mega-rocket that has yet to reach orbit and has a habit of exploding during tests.
Mars isn’t completely off the table, though. Musk says construction there could begin in five to seven years, but for now, the Red Planet is officially playing second fiddle.
📸: Getty, X