SpaceX acquires xAI
On February 2nd 2026, Elon Musk sent out a company-wide message detailing the purchase and merger of xAI and SpaceX. This email was then published on SpaceX’s website.
What does this mean for SpaceX?
This means that SpaceX is gambling and going all in on AI and the future of space-based data centres. This has been around the rumour mill for some time, especially with all the IPO talk around SpaceX, but now it is confirmed. SpaceX and Elon think the only way to scale without affecting environments here on Earth is in space. As Elon said in the message, “Space is called space for a reason,” followed by a laughing emoji. Very funny, Elon, very funny.
With the rise of AI here on Earth, the demand for power and cooling “cannot be met with terrestrial surroundings". To be able to meet power demands, SpaceX are planning a 1,000,000 satellite constellation; that’s right, ONE MILLION. For a sense of how much SpaceX aims to scale, there are only 15,000-16,000 satellites in space right now.
Starship is set to drastically ramp up operations, beginning this year with V3 Starship. Starship will deliver the much more capable V3 Starlinks, with each launch adding 20x more capability than that of current Falcon 9 launches. To many, a launch every hour seemed like a pipe dream, but with the acquisition of xAI and the constant reassurance, it seems SpaceX really can make this a reality. Saying in the message, “With launches every hour carrying 200 tons per flight, Starship will deliver millions of tons to orbit and beyond per year.” Elon insists this level of launch rate is required to take humans just that little bit further along the Kardashev scale, something Elon constantly uses as a measurement of progress. This launch rate will hypothetically add 100 gigawatts of AI compute annually with no maintenance needed. This compute capacity will allow companies to train their AI and process data at “unprecedented speeds”, which will “accelerate breakthroughs in our understanding of physics and invention of technologies to benefit humanity.”
All this AI talk has seemingly put major focus back onto the moon in Elon's mind. For someone who once called the Moon a “distraction” and has leaned heavily on Mars, he has done a complete 180 on the Moon. He talks about the advancements made due to Starship, such as orbital refuelling; landing massive amounts of cargo on the moon is a possibility and will allow for a “permanent presence for scientific and manufacturing pursuits”. Eventually, the resources on the moon will allow for satellite production and will provide the ability to deploy them further into space using electromagnetic mass drivers.
This can be seen as both positive and negative. This will allow for an increase in Starship launch cadence and help improve the design as the flight rate increases. However, SpaceX does seem to be going ALL IN, so if this backfires and doesn’t turn out to be the next big thing for humanity, then who knows what will happen. Some people may think SpaceX has lost vision of their main goal of settling Mars, but towards the end of the company message, Elon said, "The capabilities we unlock by making space-based data centres a reality will fund and enable self-growing bases on the Moon, an entire civilisation on Mars and ultimately expansion to the universe."
A bold but on brand gamble from Elon, will it pay off?
All information can be found here: https://www.spacex.com/updates