Remember in Despicable Me, when Gru wanted to steal the moon? Well, that’s pretty much where we’re at now with Elon Musk.
After years of proclaiming his intentions to help humanity colonize Mars, it looks like the billionaire is tempering his expectations and focusing on the Moon instead.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is delaying Mars plans to focus on an uncrewed Moon landing by March 2027
“We’re gonna go to the Moon, we’re gonna have a base on the Moon, we’re gonna send people to Mars and make life multiplanetary”pic.twitter.com/urwQdRMpbs
— SMX ?? (@iam_smx) February 7, 2026
In a recent announcement, Musk promised to lead a “new era in space flight,” delaying his Mars plans in order to aim for an uncrewed moon landing by March 2027—little over a year away.
“We’re gonna go to the Moon, we’re gonna have a base on the Moon, we’re gonna send people to Mars and make life multiplanetary,” he enthused.
Why the change of heart?
In a lengthy post on X, Musk added: “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 continued: “The mission of SpaceX remains the same: extend consciousness and life as we know it to the stars. 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.”
But Musk’s ambtions to colonize Mars aren’t going anywhere, he said. “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.”
What do people think about the change?
Over on X, many debated the change of heart while others wondered who could actually afford to go to space one day. Musk replied to an X user remarking about the chance of traveling to the moon, saying, “We hope to make the Moon accessible to anyone who wants to go there.”
Still, some netizens remained unimpressed. Here’s a look at what users are saying about the pivot…
This fucking clown. He constantly sells people things he can never finish… because he’s strung out on drugs, government money, our data, and Epstein visits.
Con man of the century. https://t.co/fiAj0wavAi
— Political Punk (@actingliketommy) February 7, 2026
Utter clownery.
At bare minimum, this is an admission that SpaceX was not at all focused on making good on their Artemis III contract – and that alone should be enough to have it cancelled out from underneath them. https://t.co/xGRUmSH0Te
— CommonSenseSkeptic (@C_S_Skeptic) February 7, 2026
Damning evidence.
If you pay close attention, this is his MO. Make big claims about this thing you’re working on, make big promises about how and when it will be done, spend a couple years bragging about all the “progress” being made, shift the focus and redirect to a new grift. https://t.co/gTB4qf5Um1
— Comrade Misty is Putin’s Buddy (@SarcasmStardust) February 8, 2026
Girlbossing too close to the sun, perhaps?
Elon Musk coincidentally sidelined the Mars plans after I pointed out that a sustained colony is nearly impossible due to the lack of a magnetic field. He’s going to focus on the moon now instead.
It turns out that a sustained colony on Mars was about as good of an idea as the… pic.twitter.com/AY2Klum40A
— Joshua Bryant IX (@2manyjoshes) February 7, 2026
A lucky coincidence?
As the internet is oft to do, others saw the funny side of the situation.
A bad day for the moon.
Elon Musk when he realizes putting people on the moon is difficult: Within 10 years we will put humans in Delaware
— jon drake (@DrakeGatsby) February 10, 2026
Ironically, he’s becoming more grounded.
Awkward.
Personally I don’t care whether it is Mars, the Moon or even the Sun.
I just wish Elon Musk would fuck off and live there already.
— BladeoftheSun (@BladeoftheS) February 11, 2026
Is it time for him to go?
To round things off, here’s a classic.
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