SpaceX Shifts Focus to Establishing Moon City Within 10 Years

Should we prioritize lunar settlement for faster progress or is Mars colonization worth the decades-long wait?
SpaceX Shifts Focus to Establishing Moon City Within 10 Years
Above: The SpaceX logo on a smartphone screen placed on a reflective surface in Creteil on Feb. 3. Image credit: Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto/Getty Images

The Spin

Narrative A

Musk's pivot from Mars to Moon is merely swapping one billionaire delusion for another. Both destinations remain hostile wastelands. Private space fantasies ignore history's lesson: exploration requires governments' patient capital and long-term vision, not venture capitalists demanding quarterly returns. SpaceX belongs ferrying cargo, not pioneering frontiers it fundamentally cannot afford to lead.

Narrative B

Shifting focus to lunar settlement represents smart strategy over fantasy — launch windows every 10 days versus Mars' 26-month wait means faster iteration and real progress toward expanding civilization. A self-sustaining Moon city achievable in under 10 years beats waiting decades for Mars while still advancing the core mission of extending human consciousness beyond Earth.

Metaculus Prediction

There is a 0.1% chance Elon Musk will personally set foot on the moon by 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.


Public Figures


The Controversies



Go Deeper


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© 2026 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 6.18.0

© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.

All rights reserved.

Version 6.18.0