Elon Musk has unveiled bold new plans for SpaceX following his split from President Donald Trump.
The billionaire hosted an event on Thursday to discuss the future of SpaceX, revealing the company’s strategy to colonize Mars.
SpaceX is on track to launch the first Starship rocket crewed by a Tesla Optimus robot to the Red Planet in 2026, he said.
‘Launching two years later, we would be sending humans, assuming the first missions are successful,’ said Musk.
The initial crewed launches would likely involve a small number of early settlers, focusing on building and troubleshooting infrastructure.
The ambitious plan would be made possible with next-generation Starships, featuring nine engines, better heat shields and higher payload capacities.
Musk claimed that SpaceX’s Starship assembly facility in Texas will eventually build 1,000 rockets a year once it is constructed, calling it ‘the biggest structure in the world,’ allowing millions of people to fly to the Martian world.
The announcement comes less than a day since Musk quit the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and bid farewell to the White House, saying his ‘scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end.’
The billionaire hosted a live event Thursday to discuss the future of SpaceX, revealing the company’s massive Starship rocket is set to launch to Mars next year
While Musk praised Trump, the billionaire also offered several points of criticism Tuesday evening about the president’s $3.8 trillion spending bill.
‘It undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,’ Musk bluntly told CBS.
‘I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it.’
But it seems Musk is not letting the departure from Trump hinder his long-held dream of sending humans to Mars.
The event showcased new Gigabays in the pipeline, one in Texas and another in Florida.
A SpaceX Gigabay is a massive vertical integration facility used for stacking and preparing Starship and Super Heavy vehicles before launch.
‘We will be making as many Starships for Mars as Boeing and Airbus make commercial airplanes,’ said Musk. ‘Each Starship is bigger than a 747 or an A380.’
Boeing’s 747 measure 231 feet in length, while Airbus’ A380 is around 238 feet long.
President Donald Trump and Elon Musk had a public falling out this week. Musk has since announced he has left his position at the White House
Musk also revealed that SpaceX will kick start its Starlink satellite production to about 5,000 units a year, which will also be sent to Mars.
‘Ideally we can take anyone who wants to go to Mars, we can take to Mars,’ he said.
‘And bring all of the equipment necessary to make Mars self-sustaining and grow by itself.’
He highlighted that the goal is to send enough resources to the Red Planet that if supply ships stop coming from Earth, the humans there will survive.
‘Having two planets that are self-sustaining and strong will be important for the long-term survival of civilization,’ Musk added.
The billionaire believes that multiplanetary life will allow humans to live 10 times longer.
But Musk does not want to stop there – he wants to take humans to the Asteroid Belt, the moon’s of Jupiter and ultimately to other star systems.
