Elon Musk has denied a Wall Street Journal report claiming SpaceX showed investors a prototype AI device before its recent IPO. “Utterly false,” Musk wrote on X, responding to a post about the report that has since been deleted, offering no further explanation.
A denial that leaves more questions than it answers
The Journal’s report, which cited people familiar with the matter, described a handset-like prototype shown to investors and stakeholders ahead of the IPO. The device is said to run on a proprietary operating system, use a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip, and pull in AI technology from xAI, the company SpaceX folded into its operations earlier this year. Investors were reportedly told the project is still early enough that its design could change, with no commitment that it will ever ship.
Musk’s two words don’t specify what he’s disputing. He hasn’t said outright that no device exists, that it was never shown to investors, or that the Journal got the description wrong. SpaceX hasn’t issued its own statement either.
A familiar pattern of pushback
Musk has a track record of flatly denying reports that later turn out to have merit. For instance, Reuters reported in 2024 that Tesla had shelved its low-cost Model 2, a claim Musk dismissed as “Reuters is lying (again),” without elaborating. It’s been two years since, and there’s still no sign of the Model 2.
On top of that, this isn’t the first time Musk has pushed back on reports tying SpaceX to phone-like hardware. Earlier this year, SpaceX was rumored to be exploring a Starlink-connected phone, a claim Musk also rejected at the time. However, he did say that a Starlink-based device was “not out of the question at some point.”
Whether SpaceX ever ships anything resembling the device the Journal described, or whether “utterly false” means exactly what it says, remains unclear.