Elon Musk says outer space is on track to become the most economical location for artificial intelligence data centres, potentially within just a few years, in comments made in a recent podcast and highlighted alongside a new SpaceX regulatory.
The prediction follows a proposal submitted by SpaceX to the US Federal Communications Commission, outlining plans for a constellation of space based AI data centres powered primarily by solar energy. The filing signals an expansion of SpaceX’s ambitions beyond communications satellites and into large scale orbital computing.
Speaking on the podcast, Musk argued that energy costs are rapidly becoming the biggest constraint on AI growth. On Earth, expanding data centres is increasingly difficult due to electricity limits, land use, cooling demands, and local regulations. In orbit, Musk claims, many of those constraints disappear.
“In 36 months, the most economical place for AI will be space,” Musk said, pointing to the efficiency of solar power beyond Earth’s atmosphere. According to him, solar panels in space can receive up to five times more usable sunlight than those on the surface, offering near continuous energy without weather or night cycles.
The idea builds on SpaceX’s existing experience operating Starlink, which already consists of more than 6,000 satellites. Under the new concept, future satellites would not just relay data but actively process it, hosting AI computing clusters in orbit.
Musk suggested that placing AI infrastructure in space could dramatically reduce long term operating costs for large models, especially as demand for compute continues to explode. With AI systems consuming vast amounts of electricity on Earth, orbital data centres powered by constant solar energy could bypass many of today’s bottlenecks.
Not everyone is convinced. Critics point out that cooling high performance computing hardware in space presents serious engineering challenges. While space is cold, removing heat from densely packed GPUs without traditional cooling systems is complex. Maintenance is another concern. Repairing or upgrading hardware in orbit would be far more expensive and slower than swapping components in terrestrial data centres.
Despite those hurdles, Musk remains optimistic. He claims that within five years, more AI computing power could be operating in space annually than on Earth. That would represent a radical shift in how and where the digital backbone of modern technology is built.
If the vision proves feasible, it could redefine both the AI industry and the economics of space infrastructure. What once sounded like science fiction is now being discussed in regulatory filings and timelines measured in months, not decades.
