AI isn’t new to our pockets. We all have the big black rectangles. The idea of a standalone AI gadget is weirder though. The Wall Street Journal says SpaceX actually showed investors an early prototype on Wednesday.
Elon Musk’s empire runs deep now. It includes the space rocket company, the social media mess known as X, and the AI startup xAI. Together, they cooked up something small. Sleeker than an iPhone. Slender. It runs a custom OS that eats up xAI’s own tech. Under the hood, there is a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip. The same silicon in countless Android phones today.
Then Thursday came.
Musk posted on X. Called the whole thing “utterly false.” Denied the device exists entirely.
This isn’t his first flip. In February he said no phone is coming. Back in October, at some event, he went further. He said making a phone made him want to die. But he added a caveat. If we have to make one. We will.
The rumors stick though. SpaceX just went public this month. Why hide a new hardware line now? It makes business sense. Even if he refuses to call it a handset.
Escape from the ecosystem
Smartphones are already saturated. AI lives in them. But tech giants want to build new things. OpenAI and Jony Ivo are supposedly working on screenless ear-gear. Always on. Always listening.
Musk knows the trap. Apple and Google hold the keys. They impose restrictions. They take cuts. By building a device with its own OS, SpaceX escapes those chains. It relies on xAI, not Big Tech.
Think about the App Store rules. They are strict. Harsh sometimes. If you aren’t a phone, you don’t play by their laws.
During that investor showcase, SpaceX was vague. The device is early stage. Designs might shift. It won’t look final for years. They didn’t call it a “phone” back then either.
Logical question remains. How does it connect to the internet?
It has to use Starlink. Satellite data is SpaceX’s playground. It makes sense. Does it work that well? Maybe not yet. But the hardware is reportedly sitting on desks. Investors have seen it. Musk is lying? Or just protecting the surprise.
SpaceX declined to comment.
So here we are. Waiting on a device that may or may not be a phone. While the founders scream it isn’t one. 🛰️
