According to the billionaire, it's a matter of timing – a city on the Earth's satellite can be built in less than 10 years, while on Mars, the colonization of which he has long advocated, it would take more than 20.
“Traveling to Mars is only possible when the planets line up every 26 months (travel time is six months), while launching ships to the Moon is possible every 10 days (travel time is two days). This means that we can move much faster to complete a lunar city than a Martian one,” Musk wrote.
However, he stressed that SpaceX will still strive to build a city on Mars and will begin to do so in about five to seven years, but “the first priority is to secure the future of civilization, and with the Moon it will be faster.”
For those unaware, 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.
The mission of SpaceX remains the same: extend consciousness and life as we know it to…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 8, 2026
Context
Musk has long been a supporter of the idea of colonizing Mars. He advocated the creation of a sustainable colony on Mars with infrastructure so that it could eventually live independently of Earth, he reported CBS News in 2016.
Musk claims that Starship will go to Mars by the end of 2026 with the robot Optimus, reported Reuters. Human missions could begin as early as 2029-2031 if initial launches are successful, he believes.
Musk also believes that by 2055, humanity can create a self-sustaining colony on Mars, subject to significant progress in delivering cargo to Mars every two years and developing infrastructure, production, and life support systems, writes Space.com.
