--- title: "SpaceX Eager to Support the Pentagon’s Lethal AI Models" description: "SpaceX is in talks with the Pentagon about providing the military access to its data-center capacity for running AI models" date: "2026-07-17" modified: "2026-07-17" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/space/spacex-support-pentagons-ai-models" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Space" - "SpaceX" - "The Industrialists" --- # SpaceX Eager to Support the Pentagon’s Lethal AI Models ![A colorful photo illustration featuring Elon Musk.]() *Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: Andrew Harnik / Getty Images; Shutterstock* After years of being engaged, it looks like SpaceX and the Pentagon are finally ready to send out save-the-dates. On Friday, the [*Wall Street Journal* reported]() that Elon Musk's formerly-just-rockets company is now in talks with the Department of Defense over providing the military access to its data-center capacity for running AI models, tying the knot on their already close relationship. People familiar with the matter told the newspaper that the arrangement could cost the Pentagon billions of dollars, but stressed the talks are ongoing and could fall apart. Computing power is a precious commodity during this ever-raging AI boom, and SpaceX has it in spades. Musk has rapidly built data centers in Memphis, Tennessee and a lot of that capacity hasn't been tapped into, with [*Bloomberg* reporting]() that his AI startup xAI is only using 11 percent of its total computing power. Selling this excess compute would help generate the company some much needed revenue, even if it directly benefits its rivals. SpaceX has struggled to be profitable, losing $5 billion last year. And xAI, which was folded into SpaceX before its IPO last month, [burned through $6.4 billion]() over the same period. All the while, Musk has [struggled to sell his Grok chatbot to businesses](), as its capabilities lag behind leaders like Anthropic and ChatGPT. The real story, though, is the deepening ties between Musk's business empire and the Pentagon, which goes way back. SpaceX has [worked with the military]() to deploy a [secretive network of spy satellites](), for example, and also had a small contract to experiment with building a [rocket that could deliver military cargo across the globe](). Those collaborations have gotten way bigger in the past year. In May, it [won a $2.29 billion Space Force contract]() to build a network of satellites that could function as a military internet service, connecting weapon systems across the globe. That same month, it was [awarded an even larger $4.16 billion contract]() to provide the technology to build a system that can track missiles and aircraft from orbit. To be clear, Musk's companies are far from the only tech leaders to be getting in bed with the Pentagon. Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Oracle all have similar deals for providing cloud computing capacity to the military, as well as for providing their AI models, the *WSJ* noted. But it's a particularly hypocritical road to be going down for Musk. When Musk [cut off Starlink satellite access to the Ukrainian forces]() in 2023, he reasoned that he didn't want SpaceX to be "explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation." Fast forward to this June, when a Pentagon official bragged that the military [used Grok to fire 2,000 missiles at Iran]() during Operation Epic Fury, sparking a war that killed thousands of civilians in the country. **More on SpaceX:** [*SpaceX’s Shares Tank After Starship Fails to Launch*]() ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()