[embedding-shape]

But what is xAI? I thought that was the company that had the compute + Grok, the AI company? Since when does SpaceX (which I thought was a space company?) own AI-compute hardware and/or can do model hosting? Are all of Musks companies just one big thing now where the names no longer matter, or how is it supposed to work?

Edit: seems I'm just a bit behind: "xAI — now part of SpaceX ", seems really strange for a space company to buy an AI company, but I guess rather that, than the other way around.

[uxhacker]

I think some justify it as SpaceX plans to offer hosting in space, and then use Starlink to distribute it.

[BLKNSLVR]

That's what the IPO salesman and pamphlet said anyway.

[mmcwilliams]

Can you provide a good example of something that is currently hosted in space and distributed via satellite?

[elcritch]

GPS..

[mmcwilliams]

You believe that GPS is hosted on servers in space?

[elcritch]

Technically, yes. Obviously stretches the normal definition of a server, but it is a computer controlled system "serving" a mostly digital signal.

https://www.baesystems.com/en-us/article/gps-iii-satellite-l...

[mmcwilliams]

What people are describing here is the colloquial definition of "server", being compute hosted in space. Not a broadcast signal that is interpreted on Earth.

[robmccoll]

Musk sold Twitter into xAI which he then sold into SpaceX as a financial engineering effort to lessen the impact of massive debts and cash burn. The IPO and some clever structuring is the final step in the process.

[ProAm]

It's really just a debt transfer to make one company look good while the other is saddled with debt. Should be illegal

[bmitc]

I.e., fraud.

[tmountain]

Context here (Patrick Boyle):

https://youtu.be/IHD8BDFYyGI?is=dnpBeOoxH7LUJknm

[thisisit]

Next up Tesla and SpaceX are going to merge and that will another round of synergies where Tesla and Vision AI (in FSD) and xAI.

[peterspath]

Not really strange... if the goal is to go to mars, you probably need robots, those need intelligence -> ai. It fits pretty well, especially because you want to own all the core technologies as a company.

[thefounder]

Wow…sounds like some kindergarten stuff

[embedding-shape]

Why 4-5 companies instead of one then? I thought the goal of SpaceX was to get to Mars, why does xAI need to have that same goal? Or he didn't think xAI was suitable for that goal, then changed his mind so merged the companies?

[stuxnet79]

You are overthinking this. The whole purpose of the SpaceX / xAI merger is for Musk to launder his failing companies to make them more palatable to the public. Not unlike the complex Mortgage Backed Securities of the GFC era which had a ton of low quality debt but yet were somehow assigned spotless credit ratings. Twitter is also being rolled up into SpaceX for the same reason.

[trollbridge]

I sure wish my company were failing the same way Musk’s allegedly are.

[jazzyjackson]

Personally I can go without owing money to Saudi royals.

[olyjohn]

Yeah, there are too many people happy to sacrifice principles for a buck...

[jerojero]

The stated goal is to "go to mars", the real goal is to make money.

He sold his failing but hype business to his soon-to-IPO successful but kinda boring business.

It's a way of laundering the debt and dumping into investors as he pitted different indexes against each other to force his way into one of them, and have people's 401k buy into them. Its a ton of money.

I wouldn't be surprised if Tesla is bought into spaceX in the future.

[cityzen]

He’s a drug addict and sociopath. Also has very thin skin (and hair) so he does stupid shit. Somehow we are all left holding the bag on his BS.

[BLKNSLVR]

And Africa is left holding a larger bag of Ebola.