To The Moon

In a company-wide all-hands meeting video released early on August 12, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk shared a detailed update on the company's future, shifting focus to artificial intelligence with specific revenue forecasts and timelines. The roughly 30-minute address covered SpaceX's history before pivoting to AI's dominant role.

AI Revenue to Overtake All Other Businesses

Musk stated unequivocally during the meeting: "Not maybe, but certainly—our AI revenue will, in about September, next month, exceed all other SpaceX revenue, and in the fourth quarter, it will vastly exceed all other SpaceX revenue." This marks the first time Musk has publicly provided a specific timeline for AI revenue surpassing the company's traditional operations. He emphasized that even the strongest existing businesses, including rockets, Starlink, and Dragon spacecraft, will be overshadowed by AI. "AI has become an extremely important part of SpaceX's future," he said, adding, "We must win at AI, because the future will be overwhelmingly about AI and robotics."

10 GW Target and $300 Billion to $500 Billion Annual Revenue

Musk outlined ambitious scale projections. SpaceX aims to achieve 10 gigawatts of AI computing power by the end of next year. He estimated that "if the value per watt is around $30 to $50, that means annual revenue will be $300 billion to $500 billion. Very big numbers." He also revealed that the company has already built "the world's most powerful AI training cluster" and plans to expand it tenfold by the end of next year. Regarding deployment, Musk outlined a division of labor: "AI training will continue to happen on the ground, but AI inference—the everyday use of AI—will take place in space."

AI Will Represent 99% of SpaceX's Value in Five Years

Musk's vision for SpaceX's future has fundamentally shifted. He stated during the meeting: "In the long term, in the not-too-distant future, probably four to five years, AI will represent 99% of SpaceX's value. I dare say that in five years, certainly, AI will be 99% of SpaceX's value. And SpaceX's value will be astronomical." This narrative positions SpaceX not just as a space company, but as a technology firm with Starship as infrastructure and AI as its core value.

Using Grok to Carry SpaceX's 'DNA'

Musk emphasized the importance of AI values beyond commercial interests. "We will ultimately not be able to control AI; it will be too smart for us to control. But it's like if you have a super-genius child, you can still instill in that child what you think are good and right values," he said. He revealed plans to train Grok using the entirety of SpaceX's information. "In a sense, you will actually become the parents of the AI. It will inherit your thoughts, ideas, and beliefs." Musk also disclosed Grok's iteration timeline: version 4.6 is expected to launch in about a week, with version 4.7 set to be "quite special."

Starlink: 167 Countries, 22 Million Users, and Growing

Beyond AI, Musk updated Starlink's latest metrics. The service is now active in 167 countries, with 22 million mobile users and 13 million high-bandwidth users. It has nearly 11,000 satellites in orbit, more than double the total of all other operators combined. With the deployment of V3 and subsequent versions, the satellite target is 100,000. Citing Cloudflare's predictions, Musk noted that based on current growth trends, AI-generated traffic could reach 1,000 times the volume of human internet traffic within five years. He believes Starlink could ultimately carry over 90% of global internet traffic.

Starship: Enabling Multi-Planetary Civilization

Musk maintained a grand vision for Starship, stating, "Starship will increase our ability to put mass into orbit from about 2,500 tons per year to over 1 million tons per year, and I think it could even reach 10 million tons per year." He argued that this level of capacity is a prerequisite for building lunar and Martian civilizations. "If you can't send millions of tons of cargo into Earth orbit, you can't transport the necessary supplies to the Moon and Mars, making us a sustainable multi-planetary species." The Falcon series is approaching its 700th launch, with SpaceX completing launches, landings, and booster recoveries every few days.

'We Must Win at AI'

Musk concluded his address by highlighting the most critical message: "We must win at AI, because the future will be overwhelmingly about AI and robotics." He introduced the Kardashev scale concept, envisioning a "Starmind" that harnesses solar energy and runs AI calculations in deep space, calling it "the next step in the evolution of civilization." In closing, Musk promised employees: "Anyone at SpaceX who wants to go to the Moon or Mars will be able to go in the future. I guarantee you that." Below is the full transcript of Musk's remarks, which covered SpaceX's mission, reusable rockets, Starlink, Starship, and the AI future, including a vision for a "Starmind" that harnesses the power of the sun.