Elon MuskSpaceX showed investors a prototype of an artificial intelligence device that looks like the device, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The prototype is reportedly sleeker and thinner than an iPhone, making us wonder if it’s something between a small touchscreen phone and a Rabbit R1. SpaceX reportedly showed the device to investors and interested parties before it went public, and told them it’s at an early enough stage that the design could still change.
Musk denied the report, calling it “completely fake.”
SpaceX, along with sister company Tesla, has the manufacturing know-how to be able to mass-produce a bunch of AI devices—not to mention access to the chips needed to power any computing on the device. SpaceX has also signaled it wants to expand into wireless, with Starlink Mobile as a potential competitor to Verizon and AT&T. One analyst went so far as to speculate T-Mobile or AT&T would make excellent acquisition targets for the missile maker, although such a purchase would undoubtedly be expensive.
It’s also unclear whether SpaceX is just throwing spaghetti at the wall, or whether it will actually attempt to mass produce and commercialize such a device. But one thing that seems clearer is that if OpenAI is doing it, Musk might want to try to do it better.
As we know, OpenAI is working with former Apple design chief Jony Ive on an AI device that CEO Sam Altman claimed will be more peaceful than an iPhone. Reports since last fall suggest the company is struggling to get the details right, and OpenAI recently hired another Apple executive to potentially help move things along. News broke last week that Paul Meade, Apple’s vice president in charge of the Vision Pro headset, has joined OpenAI’s hardware team.
Like OpenAI, SpaceX’s prototype is reportedly designed to run on a proprietary operating system and incorporate technology from xAI, Musk’s artificial intelligence company that SpaceX acquired earlier this year. This would prevent these new devices from being trapped on another company’s platforms (like Google’s Android). But the intention also seems to be to create something new, with native AI interfaces. That said, the graveyard is littered with failed AI device launches from companies like Humane and Rabbit. A company wanting to sell an AI device is not the same as consumers wanting to buy one. Yet.
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