Elon Musk clarified this week that SpaceX has only agreed to a six month lease for its Colossus AI training data center clusters to Anthropic, pushing back against any assumption of a longer term commitment. The SpaceX CEO took to X on Thursday to explain that while the arrangement could eventually stretch into multiple years, the company has not locked itself into any extended deal. “SpaceX has not committed to leasing Colossus for years, although it’s possible that may be what happens,” Musk wrote. His comments came just days after SpaceX filed for an initial public offering, adding a new layer of scrutiny to the company’s rapidly growing AI compute business.
Looking back at how this partnership came together, earlier this year SpaceX signed agreements for Anthropic to pay a striking $1.25 billion per month to access compute capacity from its Colossus and Colossus II data center clusters in Memphis, Tennessee. That deal was initially structured to run through May 2029, according to earlier reports. But Musk’s recent statements reveal a much shorter initial window. “The short term was our request, not Anthropic’s,” he said on X, referring to the Colossus deal. That distinction matters because it shifts the perception of who is driving the terms. It is not Anthropic pushing for flexibility, it is SpaceX protecting its own options.
Those numbers tell a story of a business still in heavy investment mode. Leasing out compute capacity to a high profile AI lab like Anthropic helps offset some of those losses, but locking in a multiyear commitment could become a liability if SpaceX needs that computing power for its own internal projects. “We won’t leave them hanging and will provide a reasonable off ramp, but if compute gets super tight I said we might need it back at some point,” Musk added.
The regulatory filing from last week noted that both companies could terminate the agreements with a 90 day notice, but it did not explicitly mention the six month lease term. That detail only came out through Musk’s social media posts, which also clarified that the 180 day lease includes a mutual 90 day cancellation notice thereafter. So in practice, either side can walk away relatively quickly after the first half year. That is an unusual structure for such a large dollar arrangement. Typically, billion dollar plus compute deals come with firm multiyear commitments. But Musk seems to be prioritizing optionality over long term revenue certainty.
What makes this situation even more interesting is Musk’s recent post about SpaceX discussing similar arrangements with other companies. He wrote that SpaceX was in talks about “offering AI compute as a service at significant scale.” That suggests the Anthropic deal might be just the beginning of a broader commercial push. If SpaceX can successfully market spare data center capacity to multiple AI firms, it could turn a money losing division into a meaningful revenue stream. But there is a tension here. The same compute clusters that generate leasing revenue are also critical for SpaceX’s own engineering work, from satellite data processing to launch simulations. If demand from internal teams spikes, Musk has already signaled he will pull the plug on external leases.
Some industry observers have questioned whether a six month lease provides enough stability for Anthropic, which needs reliable long term compute to train large language models. But Musk framed the arrangement as a mutual safeguard rather than a lack of commitment. The 90 day cancellation notice after the initial term gives Anthropic some predictability while preserving SpaceX’s ability to reclaim capacity. It is a compromise that reflects the realities of a fast moving industry where hardware demand can shift unexpectedly.
That would go a long way toward improving the segment’s margins. Yet the uncertainty around contract length may give some analysts pause. If the deal ends after six months and SpaceX cannot find another tenant quickly, those losses could persist.
On the other hand, Musk’s willingness to be transparent about the short term nature of the lease could be read as a sign of confidence. He is not trying to inflate the company’s perceived revenue stability. He is openly saying that SpaceX wants the flexibility to walk away. That kind of honesty is rare in IPO preparations, where companies often emphasize the durability of their revenue streams. Whether investors reward or punish that candor remains to be seen.
