Elon Musk on Wednesday forcefully denied a report that SpaceX had shown investors a prototype of an AI-focused handheld device, dismissing the story as \u201cutterly false\u201d in a post on X.<\/p>\n
Musk\u2019s denial came hours after The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that the recently public aerospace and technology giant had privately showcased a sleek, handset-like AI prototype to key stakeholders ahead of its record-breaking initial public offering. The report described the device as thinner than an iPhone, running on a proprietary operating system, integrating artificial intelligence technology from Musk\u2019s xAI division, and powered by Qualcomm\u2019s Snapdragon chips.<\/p>\n
The Journal\u2019s account suggested the project remained in its early stages, with SpaceX telling some investors the design was still evolving and that the company had not yet committed to building the device commercially. The report framed the prototype as part of Musk\u2019s broader ambition to create a consumer hardware platform that could unite his sprawling business empire\u2014spanning satellite internet, rocket launches, and artificial intelligence\u2014while reducing dependence on Apple and Google for distribution of services like the X social media platform and xAI\u2019s Grok chatbot.<\/p>\n
Following the report, Qualcomm (QCOM) shares gained as much as 3.4% before paring some of the advance, as investors reacted to the prospect of the chipmaker powering a new AI device from one of the world\u2019s most valuable companies. Apple (AAPL) dipped slightly before recovering, closing up 1.8%.<\/p>\n
SpaceX itself traded lower on the day, falling 7.9% to a fresh session low after the report circulated. The stock has been volatile since its historic IPO, which valued the company at well over $2 trillion. SpaceX and Qualcomm did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n
Musk has sent mixed signals about building a phone for years. In January, he said a Starlink-connected phone was \u201cnot out of the question at some point,\u201d while adding that such a device would be very different from current smartphones. Reuters reported in February that SpaceX was developing a mobile device capable of connecting directly to its Starlink satellite constellation, a report Musk denied at the time, stating on X that \u201cwe are not developing a phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last October, Musk addressed the prospect in characteristically blunt terms, saying the idea of building a phone made him \u201cwant to die,\u201d but adding: \u201cif we must do it, then we will do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The AI Hardware Race<\/p>\n
The Journal\u2019s report arrives amid intensifying competition in AI hardware. OpenAI is working with former Apple design chief Jony Ive on a dedicated AI device, while Microsoft recently unveiled a prototype AI-powered badge for workers featuring Qualcomm wearable chips. Apple itself is reportedly developing multiple AI wearable devices.<\/p>\n
SpaceX has invested billions to expand beyond its core launch and satellite internet businesses, pouring capital into AI infrastructure, xAI\u2019s Grok large language model, and plans for space-based computing. The company absorbed xAI earlier this year, along with the X social media platform, consolidating Musk\u2019s technology holdings under one roof.<\/p>\n
Wall Street Weighs In<\/p>\n
The device speculation surfaced the same day Wedbush analyst Dan Ives initiated coverage of SpaceX (SPCX) with an Outperform rating and a $190 price target, implying roughly 12% upside from Tuesday\u2019s close. Ives framed SpaceX as a three-way bet on launch, connectivity, and artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n
In a note to clients, Ives described SpaceX as \u201cone of the most differentiated assets within the tech market\u201d and argued it is \u201cwell-positioned to become a major hyperscaler with its vertically integrated platform across connectivity, launch, and AI infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ives highlighted Starlink as the company\u2019s profit engine, with approximately 12 million subscribers and average revenue per user near $66, while noting the unit holds less than 1% of the global telecom and broadband market. He characterized the launch business\u2014which flew about 170 missions in 2025 and delivered more than 2,200 metric tons to orbit\u2014less as a profit center than as an internal capability that enables everything else.<\/p>\n
The analyst reserved his richest valuation multiple for AI and compute, which he said anchors the sum-of-the-parts valuation. SpaceX recently booked large compute deals worth roughly $28 billion annually, led by agreements with Anthropic and Google (GOOGL) to supply computing power for AI models like Claude and Gemini through SpaceX\u2019s Colossus data centers.<\/p>\n
Ives also flagged Starship, the next-generation rocket, as \u201cthe single largest source of value in the franchise as much as its largest risk.\u201d Starship has flown 12 test flights but has yet to demonstrate in-orbit propellant transfer, a critical capability for deep-space missions. Regulatory pressure could delay payload deliveries slated for the second half of 2026.<\/p>\n
Despite the bullish initiation, SpaceX shares have experienced significant swings since going public. The stock is set to join the Nasdaq-100 index on July 7, an unusually fast inclusion that JPMorgan estimates could draw approximately $4.3 billion in buying from index-tracking funds.<\/p>\n
For now, the AI device remains firmly in the realm of speculation. Musk\u2019s categorical denial leaves investors to weigh competing narratives: a detailed Journal report citing multiple sources versus the CEO\u2019s unambiguous public rejection of the story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Elon Musk on Wednesday forcefully denied a report that SpaceX had shown investors a prototype of an AI-focused…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":92745,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[319,11170,140,1340,658,9284,22123,3514,9397,2899],"class_list":["post-92744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-xai","tag-apple","tag-dan-ives","tag-elon-musk","tag-qualcomm","tag-spacex","tag-starlink","tag-starship","tag-wall-street-journal","tag-wedbush","tag-xai"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92744\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}