During a recent all-hands meeting at SpaceX, Elon Musk made a groundbreaking announcement, predicting that in September, revenue from the company's artificial intelligence (AI) segment will for the first time exceed the collective earnings of all other SpaceX operations. Musk set an ambitious goal of reaching 10 gigawatts of AI computing power by the end of next year, which could lead to annual revenues between $300 billion and $500 billion. He firmly stated, "We must win at AI—the future will be about AI and robotics," marking his most definitive timeline and scale forecast to date for SpaceX's AI ambitions.
The meeting, which took place on August 12 and lasted around thirty minutes, showcased Musk's reflections on the company's journey and a keen focus on AI development, combined with financial projections and timelines. He confidently asserted, "Not possibly—but certainly—our AI revenue will surpass all other SpaceX revenue combined around September, and will significantly exceed all other SpaceX revenue combined in the fourth quarter." This is the first clear outline he has provided regarding the timeline for AI revenues to overtake traditional business streams at SpaceX.
Musk highlighted that even SpaceX’s strongest ventures—rockets, Starlink, and the Dragon spacecraft—will be overshadowed by AI's significance. He maintained that "AI has become an extremely important part of SpaceX’s future."
He shared specific growth expectations, aiming for 10 gigawatts of AI computing capacity by the end of next year. By his calculations, with an estimated value per watt between $30 and $50, this could mean substantial revenue for the company, potentially reaching as high as $500 billion annually.
Moreover, Musk announced that SpaceX has constructed "the world’s most powerful AI training cluster," with plans to expand it tenfold by next year. He also defined the separation of functions: AI training would occur on Earth, while AI inference—its practical applications—would take place in space.
Musk's perspective on the company's future has shifted significantly. He remarked, "In the long run, in the not-too-distant future—roughly four or five years from now—AI will represent 99% of SpaceX’s value," forecasting that the company's worth will skyrocket during this period.
In Musk's view, SpaceX is transitioning from a spaceflight company to a technology company, fundamentally focused on AI, with its infrastructure, especially Starship, serving as the backbone.
Musk's discussions regarding AI extend to moral implications as well. He stressed the importance of instilling ethical values within AI systems. "Eventually, we won’t be able to manage AI—it will become too intelligent for us to control. However, just like raising a super-genius child, we can embed the values we believe are right within it."
He outlined plans to train Grok, the AI system, using all of the company's knowledge. "In essence, you will become the 'parents' of this AI, passing on your thoughts, principles, and beliefs." The release timeline for newer versions of Grok was also mentioned, with version 4.6 coming in about a week and version 4.7 expected to be particularly remarkable.
Beyond AI, Musk provided insights on Starlink's current performance metrics, indicating the service operates in 167 countries, catering to 22 million mobile users and 13 million high-bandwidth users, all supported by nearly 11,000 satellites—more than double the number of satellites operated by all other companies combined. With the implementation of future versions, SpaceX aims to grow the satellite constellation to 100,000 units.
Musk referred to predictions by Cloudflare, stating that at current growth rates, AI-generated internet traffic could overtake human-generated traffic by a factor of 1,000 within five years. He envisions Starlink eventually carrying over 90% of global internet traffic.
The ambitious Starship initiative was also underscored, with Musk asserting it will dramatically increase the company's orbital lift capability from approximately 2,500 metric tons to potentially ten million metric tons annually. This level of capacity is essential for supporting human settlements on the Moon and Mars, as Musk remarked, "Without delivering millions of tons of cargo into Earth orbit, we cannot transport the supplies necessary for sustaining human life across other worlds."
As the Falcon family nears its 700th mission, with frequent launch and recovery operations, Musk concluded the session by reiterating the crucial message: there is a pressing need to excel in AI, as the future will undeniably revolve around AI and robotics. He introduced the concept of a "Starmind,” a vision that harnesses solar energy for deep-space AI calculations, framing it as the next significant step in the evolution of civilization.
At the meeting's end, Musk assured all employees that anyone desiring to travel to the Moon or Mars in the future would have the chance to do so, solidifying his commitment to their involvement in these groundbreaking efforts.
