Elon Musk has big plans following the fallout with 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.’
This is a developing story… More updates to come.
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.
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.
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