Musk’s $15.8B AI Bet, Moon Robot Factories, and Nvidia’s Orbital GPUs: Every Key Detail from SpaceX’s First Public Earnings Call

Musk framed this as a long-term strategy to scale SpaceX’s manufacturing capacity beyond Earth’s physical constraints, though he did not provide a timeline for when these capabilities might be operational.

Exclusive Nvidia Partnership: Starmind AI1 and Vera Rubin

SpaceX announced an exclusive partnership with Nvidia, committing to build all of its AI infrastructure — both terrestrial data centers and orbital compute — on Nvidia’s latest Vera Rubin architecture . Key points from the announcement:

• SpaceX will use Nvidia chips exclusively across its AI projects, including an ongoing massive data center buildout .
• The two companies are co-designing the Starmind AI1 satellite compute payload, which will put Nvidia Rubin GPUs and Vera CPUs into orbit for space-based AI processing .
• Musk stated that Nvidia has the “best AI computer” and that the Vera Rubin architecture is the best available, adding that the company will deploy Nvidia’s Vera Rubin NVL72 rack-scale system both on the ground and in space .

The partnership signals an aggressive pivot: SpaceX plans to build a network of orbital AI data centers, with Musk aiming for up to 10 gigawatts of AI compute capacity by late 2027 — a power draw roughly comparable to New York City .

SpaceX Q2 2026 Financial Results: Revenue Surges, but AI Capex Overshadows the Beat

Revenue beat Wall Street’s $6.81 billion consensus estimate , but the stock dropped 7-8% in extended trading as investors reacted to the massive capital expenditure — especially the $15.8 billion funneled into AI infrastructure, which was roughly double the company’s quarterly revenue . SpaceX ended the quarter with $100 billion in cash and marketable securities and a $47.5 billion backlog .

Why the Stock Fell Despite a Revenue Beat

While the top line impressed — Starlink connectivity revenue hit $4.3 billion, up 66% year-over-year, and SpaceX added 1.7 million net new subscribers in Q2 alone — the market’s focus quickly shifted to costs. Capital expenditures jumped nearly sevenfold to $18.4 billion, with the vast majority ($15.8 billion) going to AI infrastructure. Investors worried that the spending rate would persist for at least two more quarters . The stock dipped as much as 8% after hours .

The Bigger Picture: SpaceX as an AI Company?

AI segment revenue surged 247% year-over-year to $2.6 billion, making it one of SpaceX’s fastest-growing business lines . With the Nvidia partnership cementing an exclusive hardware pipeline and ambitions to launch orbital data centers through the Starmind constellation, Musk’s SpaceX is increasingly positioning itself as an AI infrastructure company as much as a space transportation and satellite communications provider. Whether investors will tolerate the spending remains an open question.

Bottom Line

SpaceX’s first earnings call as a public company delivered a staggering revenue beat, an audacious plan to industrialize the Moon with robots, and an exclusive Nvidia deal that could reshape the orbital computing market. But the $15.8 billion quarterly AI investment gave investors pause. The call made one thing clear: Musk is betting the company on AI — both on Earth and on the lunar surface — and he is spending accordingly.