Musk Reveals SpaceX-Anthropic Computing Agreement Is Short-Term Lease, Not Multi-Year Deal

Table of Contents Elon Musk confirmed on Thursday that the computing power arrangement between SpaceX and artificial intelligence company Anthropic represents a 180-day lease agreement. The clarification came through an X platform post, addressing details initially presented in SpaceX’s initial public offering documentation. As the recently expanded partnership with @AnthropicAI demonstrates, @SpaceX is offering AI compute as a service at significant scale. We are in discussions with other companies to do the same. Over time, especially with orbital data centers, we expect to serve AI at extremely… — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 20, 2026 The IPO documents had indicated that Anthropic would remit monthly installments of $1.25 billion to SpaceX extending through May 2029. This language implied a comprehensive multi-year commitment totaling approximately $45 billion. Musk refuted this interpretation. “SpaceX has not committed to leasing Colossus for years, although it’s possible that may be what happens,” Musk stated. The arrangement provides Anthropic with access to over 300 megawatts of computational resources at SpaceX’s Colossus facility located in Memphis, Tennessee. The AI firm also secured rights to utilize the forthcoming Colossus 2 installation. Following the initial six-month term, either organization may terminate the partnership by providing 90 days’ advance notification. According to Musk, this framework originated from SpaceX’s preferences. “The short term was our request, not Anthropic’s,” he explained. Musk indicated that SpaceX might require the computational infrastructure for its own operations should internal requirements intensify. He emphasized that SpaceX would facilitate a reasonable transition for Anthropic under such circumstances. “We won’t leave them hanging and will provide a reasonable off-ramp, but if compute gets super tight I said we might need it back at some point,” Musk stated. During the previous week, Musk revealed that SpaceX has engaged in discussions with additional firms regarding AI computing service offerings. This indicates the organization’s intention to develop a more expansive commercial operation leveraging its data center capabilities. SpaceX’s artificial intelligence division recorded operational losses approximating $2.5 billion during the first quarter of this year, against revenues totaling $818 million. The company integrated its AI subsidiary, xAI, into SpaceX operations last year. xAI documented losses of $6.36 billion throughout 2025. Providing computational capacity to external clients such as Anthropic represents one avenue for SpaceX to monetize its data center investments. xAI’s Grok conversational AI platform maintains significantly smaller user adoption compared to rival offerings from Anthropic and OpenAI. SpaceX submitted IPO documentation last week with plans to secure $75 billion in capital. The organization seeks a valuation ranging from $1.75 trillion to $2 trillion, with the public debut anticipated in June. The Colossus computing agreement with Anthropic appeared in the filing as a projected revenue stream. Musk’s explanation regarding the lease duration directly addressed social media commentary surrounding the filing. Neither SpaceX nor Anthropic provided responses to media inquiries submitted after standard business hours. Anthropic will remit reduced monthly payments during May and June 2026, transitioning to full payment amounts later that year. Discover top-performing stocks in AI, Crypto, and Technology with expert analysis.