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Elon Musk. Photo via Getty; art by Mike Sullivan

Elon Musk’s AI Group Guts Grok Video Generation Team

By Aaron Tilley, Claudia Chong and Juro Osawa · Nov 13, 2026 6:00am PST

SpaceX’s artificial intelligence group has axed most of the team behind Grok Imagine, its AI tool for video and image generation, according to people familiar with the situation. Around 60 people who worked on Grok Imagine were laid off in the past week from the SpaceX Super Intelligence group, leaving only a handful of employees to keep the... SpaceX’s artificial intelligence group has axed most of the team behind Grok Imagine, its AI tool...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

XAI Bets on Grok’s Racy Side

By Grace Kay and Theo Wayt · Jun 24, 2026 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

SpaceX’s xAI is doubling down on video- and image-generating tools, people familiar with the project said. That’s seizing on an opening left by OpenAI and Anthropic, which offer fewer visual capabilities. XAI launched an upgraded video model last week, highlighting how it’s pushing ahead with its own visual efforts even as it brings in outside... SpaceX’s xAI is doubling down on video- and image-generating tools, people familiar with the...

SpaceX Millionaires Mull IPO Windfall: A Mansion, a College Fund—or ‘Chill on the Beach’?

By Eli Rosenberg · Jun 6, 2026 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

SpaceX’s expected IPO next week will mean a banner day for many of Silicon Valley’s biggest names. But given the offering’s stratospheric size—it’s the largest ever stock market debut—it will also create life-altering wealth for a cast of lower-profile overnight billionaires, centimillionaires and millionaires. In some cases, those... SpaceX’s expected IPO next week will mean a banner day for many of Silicon Valley’s biggest...

Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images.

SpaceX Mafia Eagerly Track Mega IPO, Hoping for Industrywide Liftoff

By Theo Wayt · Jun 6, 2026 6:00am PDT

Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images.

SpaceX Mafia Eagerly Track Mega IPO, Hoping for Industrywide Liftoff

By Theo Wayt · Jun 6, 2026 6:00am PDT

SpaceX’s offices in Texas and California may host the most raucous celebrations when the company’s shares start trading this coming Friday—but an extensive network of companies founded by SpaceX alums will also be popping bottles of bubbly. SpaceX’s offices in Texas and California may host the most raucous celebrations when the company’...

Art By Clark Miller.

How xAI Went From Chasing Anthropic to Powering It

By Grace Kay · Jun 5, 2026 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

SpaceX’s AI lab has had a chaotic year so far, churning through leaders and staff before bringing in outside help in an effort to catch up to Anthropic in coding. What isn’t widely known, however, is that xAI has played a long-running cat-and-mouse game with Anthropic as it has sought to tap into that lab’s technology to develop its own... SpaceX’s AI lab has had a chaotic year so far, churning through leaders and staff before bringing...

Getty Images.

The SpaceX IPO Domino Effect

By Katie Roof · Jun 2, 2026 5:16pm PDT

SpaceX’s $75 billion offering will impact a lot more than just the employees and investors who are looking to cash in on their stock. It will also be a gauge of enthusiasm for tech IPOs, helping set the stage for other mega IPOs like Anthropic and OpenAI. If SpaceX’s IPO doesn’t take off, “you’d see a pullback in institutional capital that... SpaceX’s $75 billion offering will impact a lot more than just the employees and investors who...

SpaceX's rocket Starship makes a test flight last October. Photo by AP Photo/Eric Gay.

Starship Launch and IPO Filing Mark Critical Week for SpaceX

By Cory Weinberg, Theo Wayt and Valida Pau · May 20, 2026 5:19am PDT

SpaceX’s draft prospectus, which could become public as soon as later on Wednesday, has prominently positioned a photograph of its Starship rocket, in the very early stages of liftoff, with bright orange flames emerging from its engines and smoke plumes underneath. The photo underlines how the 400-foot-tall rocket is the most significant piece... SpaceX’s draft prospectus, which could become public as soon as later on Wednesday, has...

SpaceX IPO Could Return More Than $60 Billion Each for Founders Fund, Valor

By Katie Roof · May 19, 2026 10:59am PDT

SpaceX IPO Could Return More Than $60 Billion Each for Founders Fund, Valor

By Katie Roof · May 19, 2026 10:59am PDT

SpaceX’s initial public offering, expected to be the largest in history, is also set to yield the largest venture returns ever at the time of the IPO. Among those set to win big are Founders Fund, Valor Equity Partners and Sequoia Capital. Valor Equity Partners, whose founder Antonio Gracias is on the SpaceX board and has backed several of Musk’... SpaceX’s initial public offering, expected to be the largest in history, is also set to yield the...

Art by Clark Miller.

Market Research

The Starlink Exit Plan: How SpaceX’s Satellites Are Bringing Remote Workers to the Wilderness

By Tim Stevens · Mar 11, 2023 7:00am PST · 7 comments

The promise of Starlink is simple: You, city dweller, dream of holing up in a cabin, sailing the high seas or vagabonding across the country in an RV. But you’re still going to need an internet connection. Enter Starlink, the satellite internet provider operated by SpaceX that will beam high-speed internet down to you whether you’re... The promise of Starlink is simple: You, city dweller, dream of holing up in a cabin, sailing the...

Impulse Space CEO Tom Mueller. Photo courtesy of Impulse Space.

The Big Interview

SpaceX’s Founding Engineer Has 10 Months to Bring ‘Last-Mile Delivery’ to Space

By Becky Peterson · Jan 17, 2023 10:24am PST · 1 comment

Elon Musk wants to get to Mars as soon as possible. One of his first employees at SpaceX, Tom Mueller, is focused on another destination: the moon. Mueller—who founded his own startup, Impulse Space, in 2021 after retiring from SpaceX—recently announced that Impulse’s first ever vehicle, the Mira, will head into outer space... Elon Musk wants to get to Mars as soon as possible. One of his first employees at SpaceX, Tom...

Art by Mike Sullivan/Shutterstock

Inside SpaceX’s Lucrative New Government Satellite Program

By Becky Peterson · Dec 9, 2022 6:00am PST

Every two hours or so, a satellite that SpaceX built for the Department of Defense circles Earth. The exact purpose of the satellite isn’t clear: The project is confidential. But its significance for SpaceX, the rocket company founded and led by Elon Musk, is coming into focus. That satellite is part of Starshield, a business SpaceX... Every two hours or so, a satellite that SpaceX built for the Department of Defense circles Earth....

Gwynne Shotwell. Photo by Bloomberg.

SpaceX’s Gwynne Shotwell Takes Over Starbase Mars Mission

By Becky Peterson · Nov 10, 2022 3:08pm PST · 2 comments

Gwynne Shotwell. Photo by Bloomberg.

SpaceX’s Gwynne Shotwell Takes Over Starbase Mars Mission

By Becky Peterson · Nov 10, 2022 3:08pm PST · 2 comments

SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell will assume oversight of the company’s Starbase facility in Texas that is building Starship, the rocket planned for a trip to Mars, according to two people familiar with the change. The appointment is part of a reorganization at Starbase that follows a summer of strategy... SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell will assume oversight of the...

An earlier version of the Starship and the Super Heavy booster stacked at the South Texas Starbase facility on February 10, 2022. Photo by Getty Images.

‘Make Fire’: Inside Musk’s Struggle to Launch SpaceX’s High-Stakes Mars Rocket

By Becky Peterson · Oct 27, 2022 11:00am PDT · 1 comment

Elon Musk’s ambitions of landing on Mars rest on a 394-foot-high rocket that currently sits in the open air in Boca Chica, Texas. Two weeks ago, Musk’s hopes nearly came crashing down in an incident that caused employees to question whether the world’s most important rocket company was moving too fast. A day after technicians... Elon Musk’s ambitions of landing on Mars rest on a 394-foot-high rocket that currently sits...

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Photo by Bloomberg.

SpaceX’s Share Price Climbs Further

By Alfred Lee · Jun 1, 2016 3:56pm PDT

SpaceX shares recently sold at a price 24% higher than the last fundraising round, a securities filing by Fidelity Investments indicates, a price that would value the firm at close to $15 billion. It suggests that SpaceX shares have continued to rise in the secondary market and likely explains why Fidelity marked up its stake in the company to... SpaceX shares recently sold at a price 24% higher than the last fundraising round, a securities...