SpaceX's AI Phone Prototype Revealed: Plans to Build a Ground Mobile Network to Compete with Telecom Operators

SpaceX isn't just building rockets: Self-developed AI phone prototype revealed, thinner than iPhone, while building a ground mobile network to compete with telecom operators.
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(Background: SpaceX destroys 260 Starlink satellites in half a year, environmental groups protest impact on ozone layer)

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• Self-developed phone prototype: Thinner than iPhone, runs self-developed system
• From satellite to ground: Starlink mobile network布局
• Musk denies, SpaceX stock price drops 7.3%

Space giant SpaceX is extending its reach into the mobile phone and communications field. According to a Wall Street Journal report in early July, SpaceX showed investors an AI phone prototype that is thinner than the iPhone and runs its own self-developed operating system.

Self-developed phone prototype: Thinner than iPhone, runs self-developed system

During its IPO preparation, SpaceX demonstrated this phone-like device to investors and stakeholders. The prototype runs an AI operating system based on xAI technology, with an appearance somewhere between a small-screen smartphone and the Rabbit R1.

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell stated during IPO preparations that the company does not rule out building its own ground mobile network to provide mobile services and is considering cooperation with existing telecom operators.

From satellite to ground: Starlink mobile network deployment

Starlink currently partners with telecom operators like T-Mobile to provide satellite phone connectivity in remote areas of the US. At the MWC Barcelona conference in March 2026, SpaceX officially launched Starlink Mobile service, upgrading its satellite-to-phone strategy into an independent brand.

According to a Yahoo Finance report on June 26, SpaceX already holds spectrum resources for independent mobile telecom operators but still needs to deploy ground base stations in cities. Reuters also noted that SpaceX is building a ground mobile network in the US.

Musk denies, SpaceX stock price drops 7.3%

Musk denied the self-developed phone report on X platform, calling it "inaccurate information." SpaceX's stock price dropped 7.3% in early July, but the market remains optimistic about SpaceX's ambition to expand from satellite communications to ground mobile networks.

Compared to South Korea, Taiwan also has infrastructure plans in place for Starlink's market entry. If SpaceX truly pushes forward with large-scale ground mobile networks, the Taiwan market could become one of the first beneficiaries in Asia.