SpaceX reportedly built a prototype for a handheld AI device — and Elon Musk says the story is "utterly false."
According to The Wall Street Journal, which broke the story on Wednesday, SpaceX showed investors a "handset-like prototype" ahead of the company's record-breaking initial public offering in June. The WSJ describes a sleek device slimmer than an iPhone, running a proprietary operating system on a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip and built to integrate AI technology from Musk's xAI.
The Decoder reports that the device is meant to support Musk's ambition to build an "everything app" modeled after China's WeChat. TechCrunch frames the prototype as another sign that SpaceX wants to push into wireless, while Engadget notes the appeal of a gadget that lets people tap xAI's models without reaching for a conventional smartphone.
Musk pushed back hard. As reported by The Verge and Engadget, he dismissed the WSJ account as "utterly false."
The denial had a market ripple. According to Stocktwits, Qualcomm (QCOM) shares slid toward a fourth straight loss after Musk dismissed reports that a SpaceX AI phone would use the company's chips.
None of the sources confirm a product, a price, or a launch date — the reporting centers on a prototype shown privately to investors, and on Musk's rejection of that reporting.
Why it matters: if accurate, the reports suggest one of the world's most valuable private companies is eyeing the smartphone market as a gateway for its AI — a move that could reshape how consumers access AI and shake up the chipmakers and carriers who dominate mobile today.