Elon Musk calls Earth’s data centers “peanuts” next to what SpaceX is planning in orbit

Elon Musk said terrestrial compute will be peanuts compared to orbital compute, with monthly orbital deployment likely surpassing terrestrial around the end of 2028 and far exceeding it in 2029. He was responding to analyst estimates that SpaceX will need $470 billion over five quarters to reach 13 gigawatts of compute by the end of 2027, arguing capital expenditure efficiency is underestimated. Musk noted new compute pays for itself in under a year, potentially six months next year, and confirmed a $40 billion debt raise for GPUs. A model projects capex climbing to $369 billion in 2028, with cash burn peaking before turning positive that year. SpaceX plans up to one million AI satellites called Starmind, deployed in clusters starting late 2027 from a Texas factory, each with over 250 kilowatts of solar power, requiring 250 Starship flights in 2028. The company guided first-quarter 2027 revenue of $33-37 billion. Separately, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell announced a donation of over two million shares to children's Trump Accounts, and Tesla's quiet mode has expanded to Model Y Robotaxis.

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Elon Musk calls Earth’s data centers “peanuts” next to what SpaceX is planning in orbit — Teslarati