Elon Musk says he’s happy to lose one lunar milestone if it helps him win the bigger prize.
The SpaceX chief said in a post on X on Monday that he would congratulate Blue Origin if it lands on the moon before SpaceX, as his company focuses on a more ambitious goal: building a “self-growing city” on the moon.
“What really matters for the future is being able to land millions of tons of equipment and people to build a self-growing city on the moon,” Musk wrote. “In this respect, perhaps we are be more the tortoise than the hare for now,” he added.
Musk’s comments about SpaceX being more “tortoise than the hare” came in response to an X post by Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, who shared a black-and-white image of a tortoise. The post on Monday appeared to be a nod to the tortoise-and-hare fable, framing Blue Origin as the slow-and-steady contender and SpaceX as the faster but more distracted rival.
Musk and Bezos have been rivals for years, frequently clashing over their space ambitions at SpaceX and Blue Origin, as well as over their fortunes.
After long touting Mars as SpaceX’s main destination, Musk said on Sunday that the company has shifted its focus to the moon.
“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,” he wrote in a post on X.
“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 civilization and the moon is faster,” he added.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that SpaceX told investors it is targeting March 2027 for an uncrewed landing on the moon.
In a separate post on X, Musk said on Sunday that SpaceX would “continue to launch directly from Earth to Mars while possible, rather than moon to Mars.”
“Fuel is relatively scarce on the moon,” Musk added.
Musk previously said SpaceX would send an uncrewed mission to Mars by the end of 2026.
“No, we’re going straight to Mars. The moon is a distraction,” he said in January last year in response to a post on X.
Musk is known for rolling out bold timelines for projects such as electric vehicles — only to revise or abandon them later.
Bezos has long emphasised the moon as humanity’s next destination, and has taken aim at Musk’s push to colonize Mars.
“Go live on the top of Mount Everest for a year first and see if you like it, because it’s a garden paradise compared to Mars,” Bezos said in 2019.
During a presentation for project Blue Moon, Bezos included a slide about Mars with the title “FAR, FAR AWAY,” referencing SpaceX’s Mars ambition.
Blue Origin said previously it aimed to reach the moon by 2023 — a target it did not meet.
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