Elon Musk Says a “Self-Growing City” Is Coming—and It Won’t Be on Earth

Elon Musk is changing his mind about where humans should live next. The billionaire announced that SpaceX is now working on building a “self-growing city” on the moon.

For years, Musk has been the biggest advocate for the Red Planet, often mocking other organizations for staying focused on the moon. However, he now says the shift is a matter of timing and survival, claiming a lunar base could be up and running in a decade, while Mars would take twice as long to settle.

The main reason for this change is how long it takes to travel. To get to Mars, the planets have to line up perfectly, which only happens every couple of years.

“For those unaware, SpaceX has already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon,” Musk said in a post on Twitter. “It is only possible to travel to Mars when the planets align every 26 months (six month trip time), whereas we can launch to the Moon every 10 days (2 day trip time). This means we can iterate much faster to complete a Moon city than a Mars city.”

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

Musk says the Mars mission will still happen in about five or six years, but the moon is now the main goal. He explained that the “overriding priority is securing the future of civilization, and the Moon is faster.” This is a huge shift in his plans. Musk is known for making big promises that don’t always happen on time. He previously said he would land a ship on Mars by 2026, but that date keeps moving. By focusing on the moon, he thinks he can test his rockets and buildings much more often.

This news comes right after SpaceX joined with Musk’s AI company, xAI. Together, they are worth over $1 trillion. SpaceX already handles big government contracts and provides internet through Starlink. For a long time, Musk has said that living on other planets is the only way to save humans from an apocalypse. He used to be very critical of NASA for wanting to go back to the moon. Now, it seems he is joining the race.

NASA wants to land people on the moon by 2028, which would be the first time anyone has been there since 1972.