Elon Musk‘s ambitious plan to deploy massive data centers in orbit is drawing sharp criticism from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who dismissed the idea as “ridiculous” — at least for now — citing steep costs and logistical nightmares.
Musk’s Million-Unit Ambition
Musk’s proposal envisions building up to one million solar-powered data centers in space. The effort is reportedly tied to Musk’s broader AI ambitions, potentially integrating capabilities from SpaceX and his AI venture xAI. SpaceX acquired xAI earlier this month.
Each data center would be 31 miles long and operate more than 310 miles above the Earth’s surface, according to SpaceX’s application filed with the Federal Communications Commission.
The pitch: orbital facilities could tap uninterrupted solar power and bypass Earth’s grid constraints, a growing concern as AI workloads surge and energy demand from terrestrial data centers spikes.
How To Fix A Broken GPU In Space?
But speaking in remarks reported by The Indian Express on Saturday, Altman questioned the economic and practical viability of the plan. He pointed to launch expenses that far exceed current power costs on Earth and raised a more fundamental issue — maintenance.
“How hard it is to fix a broken GPU in space,” Altman said, underscoring the complexity of repairing or upgrading hardware in orbit.
Meanwhile, OpenAI is reportedly tempering some of its most aggressive infrastructure plans, telling investors it now expects to spend roughly $600 billion on computing power through 2030, compared to the $1.4 trillion projected earlier.
Image via Shutterstock
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