New Delhi: Elon Musk’s business empire is increasingly being built around one central idea: artificial intelligence.
Tesla, SpaceX and xAI were once seen as separate companies operating in different industries. In 2026, however, their businesses are becoming increasingly connected through AI, computing, robotics, satellites and advanced manufacturing.
The biggest development has been the growing relationship between SpaceX and xAI. Reuters reported that SpaceX merged with xAI in 2026, creating a business structure valued at around $1 trillion for SpaceX and $250 billion for xAI at the time of the transaction.
Tesla has also become part of this AI ecosystem. Earlier in 2026, Tesla agreed to invest about $2 billion in xAI, while xAI raised $20 billion in a major funding round at a reported $230 billion valuation.
The strategy is not limited to software.
In August, SpaceX and Tesla announced plans for a huge semiconductor project in Texas called Terafab. The initial investment is expected to be around $16.8 billion, with the facility designed to manufacture AI chips for Tesla’s robotics and autonomous-driving ambitions as well as SpaceX’s future computing needs.
This shows the scale of Musk’s AI ambitions. Instead of relying completely on outside chip suppliers and cloud companies, his businesses are attempting to build more of the technology stack themselves.
SpaceX is already generating significant revenue from Starlink. In the second quarter of 2026, SpaceX reported revenue of $7.8 billion, nearly double the previous year. Starlink accounted for more than half of the total, while the company’s AI business grew sharply.
The company is also spending heavily. SpaceX’s capital expenditure exceeded $18 billion during the quarter, with around $15.83 billion going toward AI-related infrastructure.
