SpaceX Shifts Mars Focus to 2027 Moon Landing: MO:MSFT, xAI Acquisition Announced

SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, has shifted its Mars initiative to a later date and is prioritizing a 2027 March unmanned lunar landing. The company agreed to acquire xAI, valued at $25 billion, in a transaction valued at $10 billion. This update comes as SpaceX is finalizing its Starship, a fully reusable stainless-steel system designed for lunar and Mars missions. The timing follows Musk's prior target of an unmanned Mars launch by the end of 2026. The U.S. lunar race remains competitive with China, with humans last landing on the Moon in 1972.