Elon Musk said on Tuesday that artificial intelligence (AI), humanoid robots and autonomous vehicles will dramatically increase demand for network bandwidth, arguing the world will need far more connectivity than ever before.
Next Phase of Growth
Musk, while speaking during Space Exploration Technologies Corp.’s (NASDAQ:SPCX) first earnings call since its initial public offering (IPO), highlighted Tesla Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:TSLA) Optimus humanoid robot as one example of the AI-powered machines he expects to increase demand for Starlink connectivity.
Why Musk Thinks AI Robots Will Drive Bandwidth Demand
Musk framed the issue as a volume problem: more robots doing more tasks means more devices competing for capacity. He said, “With the advent of AI, and humanoid robotics and vehicle robotics and just a massive number of robots, the appetite for bandwidth will be much greater than it has been in the past.”
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell echoed Musk’s views, saying she believes earlier comments may have understated how big the connectivity requirement becomes once robotics is tightly linked with AI, pointing to autos and humanoid machines as key drivers.
“I think what I might have said is underappreciating the amount of connectivity that we will need going forward," Shotwell said.
Micron CEO on Humanoid Robots
Musk’s comments echo a broader industry view that humanoid robots could become a major new computing platform.
Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) has highlighted the potential for humanoid robots to become a significant market for memory and storage, with robots carrying ten times the memory of an average vehicle.
During the company’s fiscal third-quarter earnings call, CEO Sanjay Mehrotra highlighted a long-term vision in which robots become a significant new market for memory and storage.
"Humanoid robots carry 10 times the amount of memory as an average L2+ vehicle," Mehrotra said.
SpaceX Records 92% Surge in Revenue
SpaceX reported second-quarter revenue of $7.81 billion, a 92% jump from the prior year and above a $6.93 billion consensus estimate according to data from Benzinga Pro.
Price Action
SpaceX shares rose 9.43% to $125.33 during Tuesday’s regular session before falling more than 7.5% in extended trading following the earnings release.
Benzinga Edge Rankings show SpaceX fails to provide a favorable price trend in the short, medium and long term.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo courtesy: Giovanni Cancemi / Shutterstock.com
