March 15 (Reuters) - 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, though 2031 was more likely if the

initial landings go well.

Musk told investors on a conference call in April last year

that he expected Optimus would be able to perform tasks in the

factory by the end of 2024.

In November, Reuters cited sources saying that Musk's dream

of transporting humans to Mars would become a bigger national

priority under U.S. President Donald Trump, signalling big

changes for NASA's moon programme and a boost for SpaceX.

Starship is crucial to SpaceX's future satellite launch

business, a sector it currently dominates with its partially

reusable Falcon 9, as well as Musk's aspirations to colonise

Mars.