Key Points
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SpaceX owns xAI’s Grok chatbot and plans to start launching demonstration models of its data center satellites into orbit as early as late 2027.
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Tesla wants to build 1 million humanoid robots powered by Grok AI by 2030.
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Musk saying he agrees with an AI slowdown is unlikely to translate into an actual deceleration of his companies’ AI development efforts.
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Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei recently called for companies to “slow the pace” of AI development, citing intensifying concerns about the misalignment between artificial intelligence models’ interests and actions, and those of their developers, and other human beings.
Elon Musk quickly responded, saying “Dario is right” in an X post, leading some investors to wonder what the implications for Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) and Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ: SPCX) could be. Musk’s companies are heavily involved in AI, with Tesla currently transitioning its focus to autonomous vehicles and robotics, and SpaceX recently purchasing and integrating Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI.
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But what does Musk mean when he says he agrees with Amodei, and how might it actually impact his companies? Here’s what you should know.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Image source: The White House.
What Amodei said and why
Amodei recently wrote in an essay that AI companies need to slow the pace of artificial intelligence development to ensure that AI models are safe. In it, he said: “We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models. Progress will still seem fast, and we must make wise use of the time we gain.”
That essay was published after a former Anthropic researcher publicly resigned from the company over AI safety concerns, a move that prompted many others in the field to disclose their own fears about AI.
In response, Musk posted on X recently that he agreed with Amodei.
Dario is right
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 12, 2026
Musk has warned in the past that AI is the “biggest existential threat” to humanity, and the original intent of OpenAI, now a major competitor to SpaceX’s Grok and Anthropic’s Claude, was to help steer the development of AI down a safe path.
But there are a couple of reasons why Musk’s agreement with Amodei might not change the trajectory of SpaceX and Tesla’s AI plans.
This isn’t likely to change much for Tesla or SpaceX
Shortly after Musk said he agreed with the need for an AI slowdown, he made comments at an AI summit indicating that, in his view, government regulation may not be the answer.
“You can always escalate the amount of regulatory oversight, but it is very difficult to reduce it,” he said.
Instead, Musk wants the leading AI companies to test each other’s new models and then make safety suggestions. It’s important to note that even Amodei didn’t call for AI model training to end, but rather for more safety measures to be implemented.
What all of this means for Tesla and SpaceX right now is a bit uncertain, given that no regulations for AI development are currently in place.
Tesla is slowly building out its semi-autonomous ride-share network, which it’s currently testing in a handful of U.S. cities. The company is also converting a former Tesla factory into a plant to manufacture its Optimus humanoid robots.
Musk’s AI-related goals for his companies are ambitious. He has said that Tesla will produce 1 million Optimus robots by 2030, and that the Grok will eventually provide the brains for those robots. He also said last year that Tesla could eventually produce 2 million to 3 million self-driving Cybercabs annually.
SpaceX is also heavily invested in AI. The company wants to start putting demonstration models of its data center satellites in orbit as soon as late 2027, and currently rents out part of the compute capacity of its Colossus data centers to AI customers. SpaceX spent $23.5 billion on AI capital expenditures in the first half of this year, nearly 83% of its total spending.
Given Tesla’s pivot toward robotics and AI, and SpaceX’s plans to use Grok in its humanoid robots and deploy a constellation of orbital data center satellites, I don’t think Musk’s comments about agreeing with Amodei hold much water.
Musk may want the leading AI companies to talk to each other about safety and share progress on their AI models. Still, with Tesla and SpaceX dependent on AI development — and spending heavily on their AI futures — there’s little incentive for Musk to slow the actual pace of development.
Tesla and SpaceX may fall short of their initial road maps, but it likely won’t be because Musk has slowed the pace of their AI development. Instead, it’ll more likely be because the timelines were overly ambitious to begin with.
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Chris Neiger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
