SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell dropped multiple bombshells in a recent CNBC interview: the company is open to merging with Tesla and has locked in the launch timeline for its first AI data center satellite, AI1, targeting late 2027.
Merger with Tesla? 'We're aligned in direction'
Asked about the possibility of combining SpaceX and Tesla, Shotwell admitted the two companies are "aligned in direction." She noted that a merger "could make Elon's life a bit easier." Tesla and SpaceX have long shared engineering resources; after Tesla invested in xAI, it now holds SpaceX shares. In February, Elon Musk pushed through a merger between SpaceX and xAI, valuing the combined entity at $1.25 trillion. Shotwell, however, stressed her current focus remains on building rockets, expanding Starlink broadband coverage, and International Space Station missions. Still, she called M&A a key strategic tool, "especially in AI." Earlier this week, SpaceX acquired AI code startup Cursor for $60 billion.
AI satellite 'AI1' to launch late 2027, space-based compute reshapes geography
On the much-anticipated AI compute roadmap, Shotwell confirmed the first-gen AI data center satellite, AI1, is slated for launch in late 2027. Before that, SpaceX will deploy compute power on select Starlink broadband and mobile communications satellites for preliminary tests. If successful, the plan could fundamentally alter the geographic distribution of global data centers, making compute resources no longer tied to ground facilities.