Elon Musk has informed employees at his artificial intelligence (AI) venture xAI that the future of computing lies not on Earth, but on the lunar surface.
During a recent hour-long all-hands meeting this week that reads like something out of a Robert Heinlein novel, Musk detailed an audacious vision: Constructing a lunar factory to manufacture AI satellites, which would then be launched into orbit via a massive electromagnetic catapult known as a mass driver. The goal is to create a space-based supercomputing network of up to one million satellites, bypassing terrestrial constraints to achieve what Musk calls “intelligence of that scale.”
For more than two decades, Musk’s raison d’être has been the colonization of Mars. However, the billionaire’s focus has undergone a rapid lunar pivot. Internal sources and recent communications indicate that the Moon is now viewed as a critical stepping stone — and a more immediate solution for xAI’s massive compute needs.
“You have to go to the Moon,” Musk told staff, according to a New York Times report. The world’s richest person argued that the lunar environment offers a competitive edge in harnessing power for AI.
Strategically, the Moon offers launch windows every 10 days, compared to the 26-month wait required for Mars missions, allowing for the rapid iteration Musk craves.
Both companies are currently bolstered by billions in NASA funding under the Artemis program as the U.S. races to establish a lunar presence before China’s projected 2030 landing.
Whether Musk’s lunar factory becomes the backbone of a new intelligence era or remains a distraction from Earth-bound challenges, the mogul remains undeterred.
“If you’re moving faster than anyone else,” Musk told his team, “You will be the leader.”
This shift comes at a pivotal moment for Musk’s empire.
Musk recently announced the merger of xAI with SpaceX to facilitate “outer space data centers.” He also hinted at a reorganization within xAI, noting that some early-stage employees may not be suited for the company’s new, industrial scale.
The endgame: SpaceX is reportedly preparing for an initial public offering as early as June, with valuations potentially exceeding $1 trillion.
Despite the enthusiasm, the lunar catapult concept of a railgun-like device capable of launching hardware at 3,800 mph faces immense hurdles. Musk provided no engineering roadmap or cost estimates for building industrial infrastructure on a surface humanity hasn’t visited since 1972. Critics point to Musk’s history of missed deadlines, such as his 2016 prediction of a 2018 Mars cargo mission that remains unfulfilled in 2026.
The pivot also sharpens the rivalry with Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin. While Musk moves with characteristic “move fast and break things” energy, Bezos recently posted an image of a tortoise on X—a nod to his company’s motto, Gradatim Ferociter (Step by Step, Ferociously). Blue Origin has recently shuttered its space tourism wing to focus exclusively on its “Blue Moon” lander.
