The Economist on SpaceX

Mr Musk thinks he has found an even bigger market for SpaceX to dominate: ai. He believes that AI’s appetite for computing power cannot be satisfied by earthly data centres, which are often impeded by power shortages, red tape and opposition from a distrustful public. Along with several other AI bigwigs, he reckons those problems can be solved by putting data centres in space. He argues that SpaceX, with its unmatched ability to carry things off the planet, is the firm to make it happen. The scale of his ambition is outlined in the firm’s regulatory filings. Mr Musk’s pay depends on SpaceX’s valuation rising even further (to as much as $7.5trn); on the firm putting 100 terawatts of computing power into orbit (about 1,000 times the total of every data centre on Earth today); and on building a Martian city with at least a million inhabitants. [The Economist on SpaceX](https://www.economist.com/briefing/2026/05/21/elon-musk-is-going-all-in-on-an-unproven-technology?giftId=YzNhNGNmOWQtZGNjYy00MDFhLWI2NTctOGIzZDBkYTg0MDMz&utm_campaign=gifted_article)