Elon Musk has clarified that SpaceX’s high-profile compute agreement with Anthropic is structured as a short-term lease rather than the multi-year commitment widely reported earlier.
In a series of posts on X, Musk said the agreement for the use of SpaceX’s Colossus AI infrastructure involves an initial 180-day term, followed by a mutual 90-day cancellation option.
“SpaceX has not committed to leasing Colossus for years, although it’s possible that may be what happens,” Musk stated.
Earlier reports had suggested the arrangement could run through 2029, with Anthropic reportedly paying about $1.25 billion monthly for access to the massive AI computing infrastructure.
According to Musk, the short-term arrangement was SpaceX’s preferred structure due to increasing competition for high-performance AI computing capacity.
“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,” he explained.
Under the agreement, Anthropic gains access to the Colossus 1 facility in Memphis, Tennessee, a large-scale AI cluster powered by more than 220,000 Nvidia GPUs and capable of consuming over 300 megawatts of electricity.
The facility reportedly became available for external customers after Musk’s AI company, xAI, shifted Grok training operations to the larger Colossus 2 campus.
Musk’s clarification has triggered fresh scrutiny of SpaceX’s recent IPO filing.
While the company’s S-1 filing reportedly disclosed that either party could terminate the agreement with 90 days’ notice, it did not reference the initial 180-day term Musk later described publicly.
The distinction significantly changes the potential value of the deal. A six-month arrangement would amount to roughly $7.5 billion in revenue, compared to an estimated $45 billion under a three-year structure.
The development highlights SpaceX’s growing ambitions in the artificial intelligence infrastructure market.
According to its filing, SpaceX’s AI division generated approximately $818 million in revenue during the first quarter of 2026, although the unit posted an operating loss of about $2.5 billion.
The company is reportedly targeting a valuation of around $1.75 trillion ahead of its planned public offering.
Musk also hinted that the Anthropic partnership may be the beginning of a broader AI infrastructure business. He disclosed that SpaceX is already in discussions with additional customers and plans to scale its compute-for-hire operations over time, including potential orbital data centres in the future.
