Elon Musk has tweeted that a moonbase will be created in 2025.
A SpaceX BFR with a refueling in orbit would be able to take about 100 tons to the moon. This would mean one trip could take several Bigelow inflatable space stations.
Another trip could bring heavy lunar adapted bulldozers.
2025
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 25, 2018
Craig Davidson gave a talk in 2017 about Improving the SpaceX Mars Colonization Plans.
Make a moon capable bulldozer. Replace steel with titanium-aluminum alloy. Use electric battery technology and solar panels.
Astrobotic developed Polaris as an excavation vehicle that could serve as a robotic precursor to future human planetary colonization efforts by preparing terrain and mining ice and other volatiles.
Astrobotic is developing robotic bulldozers the size of riding mowers for the moon. They could prepare a safe landing site for NASA’s lunar outpost by surrounding it with an eight-foot high semi-circle berm to block grit kicked out by spacecraft landings from hitting nearby habitats.
A moon base with each square being about 40 feet by 40 feet would have massive smelters to process regolith to pure metals and components.
Moon Mining
A SpaceX moonbase could mine for ice for fueling satellites and other orbital operations.
SpaceX borrowing $500 million
SpaceX is seeking to borrow $500 million in the leveraged loan market, according to three people familiar with the matter. Goldman Sachs is leading the talks with potential investors this week.