SpaceX reportedly developed an AI device prototype that resembles something between a small touchscreen phone and a Rabbit R1, and showed it to investors and stakeholders before going public, noting the design could still change at its early stage. Elon Musk denied the reporting, calling it "utterly false."
Through its sister company Tesla, SpaceX has the manufacturing expertise to mass-produce AI devices, as well as access to chips for on-device compute. The company has also signaled interest in expanding into wireless, with Starlink Mobile positioned as a potential competitor to Verizon and AT&T. One analyst speculated that T-Mobile or AT&T could serve as acquisition targets for SpaceX.
The prototype reportedly runs on a proprietary operating system integrating technology from xAI, which SpaceX acquired earlier this year, with the aim of creating native AI interfaces outside other companies' platforms. The effort comes amid broader industry competition, including OpenAI's collaboration with Apple's former chief design officer Jony Ive on its own AI device. OpenAI recently added Paul Meade, Apple's VP in charge of the Vision Pro headset, to its hardware team.
It remains unclear whether SpaceX plans to mass-produce and market the device. Previous AI device launches from companies like Humane and Rabbit have struggled commercially, highlighting that consumer demand for such products is still unproven.