SpaceX founder Elon Musk said on Friday that Starship is set to depart for Mars at the end of next year, carrying Tesla humanoid bot Optimus. Musk suggested in a post on X that human landings could begin as early as 2029,

Musk—who has a history of setting unrealized goals for his companies—says he wants to send humans to Mars by 2029, though he says 2031 may be more likely.

Elon Musk boldly claimed he could land humans on Mars "as soon as 2029." "Starship departs for Mars at the end of next year, carrying Optimus," the SpaceX CEO wrote in an X post shared on Saturday, referring to the space technology company's launch vehicle and Tesla's robot.