Elon Musk's SpaceX may be aiming to compete with Apple in the future. The company showed investors a prototype for a "handset-like device designed to reshape how humans interact with artificial intelligence," according to The Wall Street Journal.
The device is described as being slimmer than an iPhone, with a "sleek design." It runs a proprietary operating system, has a Qualcomm chipset, and integrates AI tech from SpaceX subsidiary xAI. In the past, Musk has talked about an "everything app" like China's WeChat, and the device investors were shown apparently drew on that concept.
SpaceX was showing the prototype to investors and stakeholders ahead of its IPO, and said the project was in the early stages of development. The final design could change, and it is not known if it will actually come to market.
Musk has talked about designing a smartphone in the past. He said he would develop one if X (formerly Twitter) was removed from the App Store by Apple. In November 2025, he said he didn't want to make a phone, but he would if Apple and Google did "really bad things" like censorship. In a town hall meeting, Musk said the idea of making a phone "makes me want to die," but one of his companies would make a phone if needed.
Earlier this year, Musk said explicitly that SpaceX is not developing a phone, but The Wall Street Journal says some SpaceX and Tesla investors were told Musk "has long envisioned" a device that would be a platform for Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI technologies. Musk has denied the report, calling it "utterly false."
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