Elon Musk took to social media platform X over the weekend to discuss the possibility of launching 1 million tons of AI satellites into space annually. This ambitious plan aligns with his previously stated goal of deploying 100 gigawatts of artificial intelligence capacity in space each year.
Cathie Wood, founder of ARK Invest, posted on X that according to an open-source model developed in collaboration with Mach33, SpaceX's enterprise value could reach approximately $2.5 trillion by 2030. This projection represents a sevenfold increase from the company's $350 billion valuation during its December 2024 funding round. ARK's base case forecast ranges between $1.7 trillion (bear case) and $3.1 trillion (bull case).
Musk responded by highlighting a critical additional factor: "Satellites with localized AI computing capabilities transmitting results from low-latency sun-synchronous orbits would become the lowest-cost method for generating AI bitstreams within three years. This approach also represents the fastest path to scaling within four years, as securing simple power sources on Earth has become increasingly difficult. One million tons of satellites annually, each with 100 kW capacity, could add 100 GW of AI power yearly with zero operational or maintenance costs, connected via high-bandwidth lasers to the Starlink constellation."
Musk further elaborated on advanced concepts: "A more sophisticated approach would involve building satellite factories on the Moon and using mass drivers (electromagnetic railguns) to accelerate AI satellites to lunar escape velocity without rockets. This could enable 100 terawatts of AI capacity annually, marking significant progress toward achieving a Kardashev Type II civilization."
In a separate post, Musk added: "Once lunar factories, robotics, and mass drivers are established on the Moon, the entire cycle becomes closed-loop. This system could potentially decouple from traditional currencies and operate autonomously using watts and tonnage as units."
Commenting on the scale of this vision, one user noted: "Elon Musk is discussing launching 1 million tons of Starlink satellites for AI computing annually. For context, we currently launch about 3,000 tons of satellites into orbit each year, mostly by SpaceX. One million tons would require launching more than 25 Starships daily!"
Another user referenced Musk's August post predicting that Starship would achieve more than 24 launches within 24 hours in about 6-7 years, to which Musk simply replied: "Yes."
During a recent interview with Tesla investor Ron Baron, Musk stated he sees a viable technical path to launching 100 GW of solar-powered AI satellites annually, describing it as potentially the lowest-cost method for mass-producing and operating AI systems.
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