This is actually the second time that SpaceX has announced that it will fly tourists to the moon and back. In February last year, Mr. Musk said that two people had put down a deposit for a cruise around the moon and that it would occur late this year. However, those two were to fly aboard the Falcon Heavy. With the modernization of electronics leading to smaller satellites and the greater lifting power of newer versions of SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, the market for the Falcon Heavy is dwindling. Mr. Musk said in February that SpaceX would not go to the expense and effort of making the Falcon Heavy suitable for human passengers.

Source: New York Times September 17, 2018 20:26 UTC