After a major restructuring that led to the departure of several senior executives, Elon Musk outlined an audacious future vision for his artificial intelligence company xAI yesterday: The lunar base will serve as a "supply station" for artificial intelligence to expand into deep space.

Musk clearly stated that after merging xAI with SpaceX and planning an initial public offering, the company's recruitment focus has shifted from traditional general artificial intelligence (AGI) research to more ambitious aerospace engineering. He extended an olive branch to potential job seekers: "If you're interested in large-scale autonomous vehicles on the moon, join xAI."

Space, spaceship, universe, astronaut

Core Vision: Energy-Driven Civilization Leap

At an all-employee meeting of xAI, Musk revealed plans to build artificial intelligence data centers in orbit, but this is just the beginning. Faced with annual power demands in the terawatt range, Musk turned his attention to the moon:

  • Lunar City: Establish an industrial base dedicated to manufacturing space computers.

  • Mass Driver: Use large maglev trains on the moon to directly launch artificial intelligence satellites into deep space.

  • Kardashev Scale: Musk is referencing this measure of galactic civilization, aiming to advance human civilization to a higher energy utilization stage by using solar energy on the moon's surface.

Strategic Shift: Leaving Mars Behind, Embracing the Moon

This plan comes alongside a major shift in SpaceX's strategy. Previously, SpaceX had publicly abandoned its long-standing goal of Mars colonization. Musk once envisioned sending a million people to live on Mars, but due to technical costs and lack of funding, the planned Mars landing has been scaled back, with the focus now fully shifted to more profitable "Starlink" satellite launches and NASA's lunar missions.