Elon Musk pushed back sharply on Wednesday against a Wall Street Journal report alleging that SpaceX had shown investors and other stakeholders a prototype of an AI-powered handheld device prior to its high-profile IPO.
Musk offered a blunt two-word rebuttal on X, his social media platform, writing simply: “Utterly false.” He did not provide any further explanation.
According to the Journal, which cited sources with knowledge of the situation, the device resembled a handset and was built to operate on a proprietary operating system. The report said the gadget would incorporate AI technology from xAI and run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips.
The Journal also noted that SpaceX had informed certain investors the project was still in its early phases, with the design continuing to change and no guarantee the device would ever actually be produced.
SpaceX has poured billions of dollars into growing beyond its original launch and satellite internet operations, directing funds toward AI infrastructure, xAI’s Grok large language model, and ambitions for space-based computing as Musk works to put the company at the forefront of the AI industry.
Neither SpaceX nor Qualcomm responded to requests for comment in time for publication.
Reuters had previously reported in February that SpaceX was working on plans for a mobile device tied to its Starlink satellite internet network that could compete with conventional smartphones.
Back in January, Musk himself acknowledged that a Starlink-connected phone was “not out of the question at some point,” while noting that any such device would look and function very differently from phones currently on the market.
In related tech news, Microsoft last month unveiled its own prototype — an AI-powered badge device designed for workers that features Qualcomm wearable chips. The company described it as an always-connected assistant capable of using AI agents, voice commands, a touchscreen, and a camera to help employees get things done.
