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SpaceX vs. OpenAI: The AI Gadget War Just Got Messy

A Mysterious Prototype and a Denial That Backfired

Last month, a select group of investors got a glimpse of something sleek—ultra-thin, Snapdragon-powered, and running a SpaceX-branded operating system—a creation reportedly birthed from Elon Musk’s xAI division. The demo landed just before SpaceX filed for its IPO, igniting speculation about the company’s expansion into consumer AI hardware.

Then came the flat-out denial—Musk’s "never happened" response, delivered in under an hour. A move so swift it had the opposite effect, ensuring the rumor spread faster than the original leak.

OpenAI’s Wearable Flops—and a Smartphone Gambit

Meanwhile, over at OpenAI, Sam Altman’s team has quietly scrapped several high-profile wearable prototypes:

• "Sweetpea" – Earbuds with a floral nickname
• "Dime" – Another earbud project
• "Gumdrop" – A pen-shaped device

Instead? A full-sized smartphone—and insiders say it’s already in motion. Ming-Chi Kuo, the well-connected Apple analyst, claims OpenAI has secured MediaTek’s Dimensity 9600 chip and Luxshare as the manufacturer.

Why? The question lingers: Did SpaceX leak a fake device to juice investor hype before its IPO? Or was the prototype real, and the denial just another layer of the game?

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The Timing Was Too Perfect

SpaceX files for IPO → invites a small circle to see a prototype → tech reporters race to declare a winner in the AI gadget arms race.

Musk’s denial didn’t quell the storm—it fueled it. Was this a calculated play?

• "They’re already in hardware"—a narrative planted, whether the device was real or not.
• Or was the leak the real product? A free marketing blitz before the stock even hits the market.

One thing’s certain: The AI gadget race just got a lot more interesting.