Musk says SpaceX focused on building self-growing city on Moon within 10 years

Tech billionaire Elon Musk said on Sunday that SpaceX has shifted its primary focus to building a “self-growing city” on the Moon, a goal he claimed could be achieved in less than a decade.

In a post on social media platform X, Musk said the lunar project has taken precedence over the company’s long-stated ambition to establish a human settlement on Mars, citing the urgency of safeguarding humanity’s long-term survival.

“SpaceX is now prioritising building a self-growing city on the Moon, which could be achieved in less than 10 years,” Musk wrote. “That said, SpaceX will also strive to build a Mars city and begin doing so in about 5 to 7 years, but the overriding priority is securing the future of civilisation — and the Moon is faster.”

Musk did not provide technical details on what a “self-growing city” would entail, but the term is understood to refer to a permanent human settlement capable of expanding autonomously using local resources, such as lunar regolith, water ice and solar energy.

SpaceX has long been central to NASA’s Artemis programme, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon and establish a sustained human presence there later this decade. The company’s Starship spacecraft is expected to play a key role in transporting cargo and crews to the lunar surface.

Musk has previously described Mars as humanity’s “backup planet,” arguing that a multiplanetary civilisation is essential to protect against existential threats. His latest comments suggest a strategic pivot toward the Moon as a more achievable near-term objective, given its proximity to Earth and lower logistical challenges compared with Mars.

Experts note that while a permanent lunar city within a decade would represent a dramatic acceleration of current plans, significant hurdles remain, including life-support systems, radiation protection, sustainable energy generation and long-term human health in low gravity.

SpaceX has not announced a formal timeline or funding plan for the proposed lunar city, and it remains unclear how the project would be coordinated with existing international space efforts.