February 9 2026 Elon Musk: said that SpaceX Is Shifting Focus to Building a City on the Moon of Mars. Elon Musk explained that SpaceX wants to build a city on the Moon that can grow by itself. Elon Musk thinks this is an idea because it will happen faster, than trying to build a city on Mars. Elon Musk believes that building a city on the Moon is easier to do than building one on Mars.
On Sunday the billionaire posted something on X. He said the Moon is a place to visit than Mars. The Moon has some advantages. For one thing we can send things to the Moon often. It also takes a lot time to get to the Moon. The billionaire thinks this is really important. He likes that the Moon has frequent launch windows and much shorter travel times to the Moon.
The main thing that matters is making sure the future of civilization is okay and going to the Moon is quicker. It is only possible to go to Mars when the planetsre, in the right position every 26 months but we can send something to the Moon every 10 days. Elon Musk said that the Moon is an option because it is faster. Going to the Moon is something we can do a lot, like every 10 days but going to Mars only happens every 26 months when the planets are aligned. The future of civilization and the Moon are important to think about.
Elon Musk said that a city on the Moon could be built in than ten years. This is a lot faster than building a city on Mars, which would take than twenty years to do. Elon Musk thinks the Moon is a place to start with because it is closer to Earth. So a Moon city is something that Elon Musk believes can happen quickly like in, under a decade.
The plans for Mars have been delayed. This does not mean that the Mars plans are abandoned. The people in charge of the Mars plans are still working on them. They just need a little time to get everything ready, for the Mars project. The Mars plans are still happening they are just taking a bit longer than expected.
SpaceX is still going to build a city on Mars Musk said. They want to start doing this in five to seven years. Not long ago in May last year Musk said that SpaceX was trying to get its first Starship to land on Mars by late 2026 and there would be no people, on it. Musk said this about the Mars city and the Starship that SpaceX is building. SpaceX is working on the Starship and the Mars city. They have plans to start building the city soon.
For a long time Elon Musk has said that setting up a place for people to live on Mars is the main goal of SpaceX. He thinks it is very important to have people living on another planet so that humans can survive for a very long time. Elon Musk believes that Mars settlement is the key to making sure that people can keep living even if something bad happens on Earth. The idea of Mars settlement is something that Elon Musk has talked about for, than twenty years.
Unclear Details on ‘Self-Growing City’
Musk did not say what he means by a self-growing city. He also did not say if this idea fits with NASAs plans for the moon. SpaceX did not get back, to people who asked for information right away.
In the past Musk has said some things, about NASAs plan to focus on the Moon. At the beginning of year he called NASAs Artemis program a distraction. He wrote on X that SpaceX is going to Mars directly. Musk thinks SpaceX should go to Mars, not the Moon. He wants SpaceX to focus on Mars not NASAs Moon plan.
NASA’s Moon Strategy and SpaceX’s Role
NASA wants to send people to the Moon. They are making plans to land astronauts on the Moon by 2028. This NASA mission will be the time people have been to the Moon since the Apollo program stopped in 1972. The Moon is where NASA is focusing its efforts and the NASA mission, to the Moon is very important. NASA is working hard to make sure the NASA astronauts can walk on the Moon again.
NASA made the rocket and the spacecraft that will take astronauts to the Moon.. Spacex has a big job to do. They have a contract to make the lander. This lunar lander will take astronauts from the Moons orbit down to the surface of the Moon. The contract is three billion dollars. SpaceX wants to use its Starship system for this job. The Starship system is really big it is the rocket that has ever been made. SpaceX will use this Starship system to go to the Moon.
Business Moves and Political Context
Elon Musk has a timeline and it is out now. This is happening after SpaceX bought xAI which’s his company that makes artificial intelligence. This company made the chatbot called Grok. Before that xAI bought a media platform called X back, in March 2025. Elon Musks company xAI did this deal to get the social media platform X.
Musk said that the acquisition will bring together a lot of things, like artificial intelligence and rockets and satellite internet and communications technology to make something new. This will be a system that works well together which Musk calls a big innovation machine. Musk thinks that artificial intelligence and rockets and satellite internet and communications technology will all work together to create ideas and make new things. Musk wants to make a system where all these things work together seamlessly which’s what he means by a big innovation machine that is all connected.
The change is happening because Musk is now playing a part in United States politics. Musk spent a lot of money during the presidential election. He supported former President Donald Trump. Musk even worked in the White House for a while. On, Musk and Donald Trump made up after they had a big disagreement in public. Musk is taking a visible role in United States politics and this is a big deal for Musk and the people, around him.
A Strategic Pivot
While Musk once dismissed lunar exploration as secondary to Mars, his latest comments suggest SpaceX now views the Moon as the fastest path toward establishing a permanent human presence beyond Earth — with Mars remaining a longer-term goal.
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