Elon Musk

Musk says Tesla hopes to get EU-wide approval for FSD, possibly within a few months, though timing is hard to predict.

We're hoping for an EU-wide approval. It's hard to predict, but maybe, you know, within a few months.

Musk says merging SpaceX and Tesla has a lot of merit given the superintelligence singularity, with synergies in AI software, chips, robotics and Starlink, though it is up to the special committees.

>> I THINK THERE IS A LOT OF MERIT TO COMBINING COMPANIES, AS WE ARE PRETTY MUCH IN THE SUPER INTELLIGENT SINGULARITY. AND THERE'S A LOT TO BE GAINED FROM COOPERATING ON DEVELOPING SUPER INTELLIGENT SOFTWARE, CHIP DESIGN, ROBOTICS, ORBIT WITH THE STARLINK CONSTELLATION, CONNECTIVITY. I THINK IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA, BUT IT'S REALLY UP TO THE SPECIAL COMMITTEES OF BOTH COMPANIES.

Musk said ASML and other toolmakers are speeding up equipment deliveries for the Terafab project, targeting high-volume chip production in Q3 or Q4 2028, which he called highly ambitious.

ASML and other toolmakers were accelerating deliveries for the Terafab project run by Tesla and SpaceX. SpaceX is targeting high-volume chip production there in the third or fourth quarter of 2028 — a start date Musk himself called highly ambitious.

Musk said Starshield is owned and controlled by the US government, and that any speed or usage limits are decided by the US military and ultimately the president.

Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately (by the president of the United States).

Musk argues AI agents will vastly outnumber people and each consume far more bandwidth, requiring several orders of magnitude more communication capacity.

AI or SI agents will, on a per agent basis, use far more bandwidth than a person and there will be far more agents than there are people. So, this ends up requiring a several orders of magnitude increase in communication bandwidth in order to satisfy that communication demand,

Musk says Starlink revenue will scale with bandwidth delivered, supported by direct-to-cell and a terrestrial network buildout.

Revenue for Starlink will be at least somewhat proportionate to the total bandwidth delivered. We will also have high bandwidth direct-to-cell capability, and we will be building out our terrestrial networks so that there's broad-based connectivity anywhere in the world that SpaceX and Starlink are allowed to operate.

Musk said he supports a possible SpaceX-Tesla merger but must stay out of the discussions because he is a conflicted party.

“Because I’m a conflicted party, I can’t actually be in the discussions,” he said during SpaceX’s earnings call. “I think it would be a good idea.”

Musk says the bottleneck for deploying superintelligence is now power, cooling and infrastructure rather than chips.

I think people are starting to realize the constraint on deployment of super intelligence is more in power and cooling and infrastructure than it is in chips,

Musk says there is a small but real chance SpaceX will have over 20 GW of compute online next year.

There's a non-zero possibility ... of SpaceX having over 20 gigawatts of super intelligence compute online next year. A small possibility. It used to be zero. It's not zero anymore,

Musk says Grok Bot is the fastest-growing product he has ever seen, with per-user usage rising over time.

We're seeing the fastest growth of a product that I've ever seen in my life for Grok Bot,

Musk expects Grok Bot may consume most of SpaceX's superintelligence compute.

I think Grok Bot may end up being what uses most of our Super Intelligence compute.

Musk argued on an analyst call that SpaceX and Tesla have much to gain by cooperating on developing superintelligence, which underpins the case for a merger.

lots to be gained from cooperating on developing super intelligence,

Musk concluded from his DOGE experience that only AI and robots can solve the national debt, since cutting waste from within government is not feasible.

the only way we're going to solve the national debt is with AI and robots.

Musk admitted his political involvement went on too long and distracted him from xAI, which he had treated as a side hustle.

I think I had it going for too long.

Musk said on SpaceX's earnings call that he thinks merging Tesla and SpaceX would be a good idea.

"Do I think it would be a good idea? Yes," Musk said during the call.

Musk says SpaceX reaching $1 trillion in revenue in 2028, though it sounds crazy, is no longer impossible.

As crazy as this sounds, $1T in SpaceX revenue in 2028 is no longer impossible

Musk argues that SpaceX and Tesla could gain a lot by cooperating on superintelligence software, chip design, the Terafab, robotics and orbital launch.

"There's a lot to be gained from cooperating on developing super intelligence software, chip design, the Terafab obviously, robotics, mass to orbit with the Starmind constellation," Musk said in Tuesday's earnings call.

Musk said both companies formed independent special committees to explore a merger at shareholders' request, and he sees much merit in combining them.

"Both SpaceX and Tesla have formed special committees to discuss this idea at the request of shareholders, and these special committees consist of independent directors," Musk said during SpaceX's earnings call with investors, adding that he sees "a lot of merit to combining the companies."

Musk cautioned that the merger is not a certainty, since it needs approval from 50% of all Tesla shares, a high hurdle.

"I think some people out there assume that a SpaceX and Tesla merger is a certainty, and I think that would be overstating it," he said. Musk added, "At the end of the day, the shareholders have to be supportive of this, and particularly on the Tesla side, we will need a 50% vote of all shares, not just those who vote, but of all shareholders. And that's quite a high hurdle to try to achieve."

Musk said he is confident the tower catch of Starship's upper stage will more likely than not succeed on the next flight.

more likely than not that this [attempted tower catch] succeeds next flight.

Musk expects Starship to fly weekly in H1 2027 and twice weekly by end of next year, aiming for airplane-like operations.

land the rocket and launch it just like an airplane

Musk said SpaceX sees a clear path to several hundred billion dollars a year in connectivity revenue.

We do see a clear path to several hundred billion dollars a year in connectivity revenue,

Musk said on SpaceX's earnings call that a merger between SpaceX and Tesla would be a good idea.

would be a good idea,

Musk said a SpaceX-Tesla merger is a good idea with much to gain in AI, chips, robotics and software, but it is not certain and he is conflicted and cannot take part.

He said he cannot take part as a conflicted party, called a deal a good idea with a lot to be gained in AI, chips, robotics and software, and said treating a merger as certain would be overstating it.

Musk said a Tesla-SpaceX merger would be a good idea but the decision rests with the special committees, as he is a conflicted party and cannot take part.

I think it would be a good idea, but it's really up to the special committees of both companies. Because I'm a conflicted party, I can't actually be in the discussions of the special committees.

Musk argued merging the companies has merit because we are essentially in the superintelligence singularity and cooperation on AI software, chips, robotics and connectivity would yield large gains.

I do think there's a lot of merit to combining the companies as we are pretty much in the superintelligence singularity, and there's a lot to be gained from cooperating on developing superintelligence software, chip design, the Terafab obviously, robotics, mass-to-orbit with the Starmind constellation, connectivity,

Musk said Terafab's timeline is very aggressive and thanked ASML and other suppliers for expediting equipment deliveries.

These dates are very aggressive, and we deeply appreciate ASML and all our other suppliers for expediting equipment delivery to achieve this outcome.

Musk said he personally thinks a SpaceX-Tesla merger is a good idea because of synergies across superintelligence software, chips, Terafab, robotics and satellite connectivity, while stressing there is no guarantee and shareholder approval is needed.

Do I think this is a good idea? Yes.

Musk said he thinks a Tesla-SpaceX merger would be a good idea and that it is under active consideration.

"Do I think it would be a good idea? Yes," Musk said during a call with financial analysts over the quarterly business results of SpaceX on Tuesday.

Musk cautioned that the special committees have not agreed on terms and there is no guarantee of a deal, but he sees substantial merit in merging.

"The special committees have not reached agreement on terms of any transaction and there's no guarantee that they will," Musk added. "But I do think there is a lot of merit to merging and a lot to be gained."

Musk described the requirement that at least 50% of Tesla shareholders approve the merger as a quite high hurdle.

At least 50% of Tesla's shareholders would need to approve the merger, which Musk described as "quite a high hurdle to achieve".

Musk argues that intelligence without the ability to manipulate the physical world has far less value, using dolphins and whales as an example.

Dolphins and whales are actually very intelligent. But because they can’t manipulate complex objects, I think that actually made the value of intelligence much less.

Musk says robots that can manipulate physical matter will make AI's value exponentially greater, including running scientific experiments autonomously.

Once you have a robot that can manipulate atoms, can shape objects, the value of the intelligence becomes exponentially greater because it can now do things. It could have a science lab and run experiments and try to understand the nature of the universe.

Musk claims that in a benign scenario AI will replace jobs with universal high income and no shortage of goods or services, which he puts at roughly 80% likely.

universal high income

Musk suggests advances in AI robotics will produce material abundance, to the point where robots could build anyone a castle.

if you want a castle, robots will build you a castle.

Musk announced on X that next year he will give one SpaceX share to every child in America, without explaining how the shares would be distributed.

every kid in America

Responding to Anthropic's plan to commit 5% of its shares to a public benefit fund, Musk argued the shares should instead be given directly to the public.

I recommend giving the shares directly to the public.

Musk urged Anthropic to go beyond its public benefit fund plan and give shares directly to the public.

directly to the public

Responding to Anthropic's Public Benefit Fund, Musk argued shares should be given directly to the public rather than through a fund.

I recommend giving the shares directly to the public… This is what I will be doing.

Musk said the hardest part of philanthropy is giving money in ways that are truly beneficial rather than merely appearing good.

The biggest challenge I find with my foundation is trying to give money away in a way that is truly beneficial to people. It’s very easy to give money away to get the appearance of goodness. It is very difficult to give money away for the reality of goodness.

Musk publicly committed to giving one of his own SpaceX shares to every American child next year.

Elon Musk posted on X on Oct. 19 that next year he will give one of his own SpaceX (SPCX) shares to every kid in America.

Musk pledged to give every American child one share of SpaceX next year, calling it the first of many such giveaways.

the first of many

Musk pledged to give one SpaceX share to every child in America next year, saying it would be the first of many such gifts, amid concerns over AI's economic impact.

Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America. This will be the first of many.

Musk pledged on X to give one SpaceX (SPCX) share to every U.S. child next year, potentially worth about $10.2 billion, and said it would be the first of many such giveaways.

This will be the first of many.

Musk expects Starlink to carry a majority of the world's internet within 10 years, at least where it is allowed to operate.

He expects Starlink to carry "a majority of the world's internet, at least in countries where we're allowed to operate" within 10 years.

Musk says SpaceX will need to make Starlink pricing affordable in India or nobody will buy it.

if Starlink is too expensive in India, no one will buy it, so SpaceX will need to make pricing affordable

Musk said Optimus and Cybercab will make up the vast majority of Tesla's value.

Optimus and Cybercab will be the vast majority of Tesla's value.

Musk argued only superintelligence, robots, solar and space transport can scale to a civilization-level economic size.

The only things that grow to an economically tremendous scale (K2+) are superintelligence, robots, solar, and transport to space.

Musk says Optimus robots and Cybercab robotaxis will make up the vast majority of Tesla's value, arguing superintelligence and robots are the key scalable economic drivers from which solar and space follow.

Optimus and Cybercab will be the vast majority of Tesla's value. The only things that will scale to incredible size (K2 and beyond) economically are super intelligence, robots, solar power and mass to space. And, of course, if you have the first two, the rest will follow.

Musk argued that low birth rates are the top threat to the West, followed closely by migration, and warned that the West will disappear if the trend continues.

“Low birth rate,” he later said, “is the number one threat to the West followed closely by migration. There will be no West if this continues.”