Theo Wayt
Verified
Currently: Business and economics journalism fellow @bagehots @columbia_biz
Usually: reporter @theinformation
Articles by Theo Wayt
Tesla Vehicle Sales Rebounded 25% in Second Quarter
Source: The Information Tesla’s vehicle deliveries rebounded by 25% to 480,000 in the second quarter, following a sales slump in 2025, the company said on Thursday. Out of the deliveries, 468,000 were Model 3 or Model Y vehicles, while 12,000 were other models including the Cybertruck, Model X and Model S. Tesla discontinued the Model X and Model S during the second quarter.
SpaceX Debt Weakens, Stock Falls Below First Trading Price
Source: Bloomberg SpaceX’s recent bond sale is weakening in the secondary market, with investors now demanding a significantly bigger yield premium versus U.S. treasuries from when the offering priced on Tuesday, Bloomberg reported on Friday. A large dealer was quoting SpaceX’s 2056 bonds at as much as 0.28% higher than their issue price, which was 1.75% above treasuries, Bloomberg reported.
XAI Bets on Grok’s Racy Side
SpaceX’s xAI is doubling down on video- and image-generating tools, people familiar with the project said. That’s seizing on an opening left by OpenAI and Anthropic, which offer fewer visual capabilities. XAI launched an upgraded video model last week, highlighting how it’s pushing ahead with its own visual efforts even as it brings in outside help to compete with rivals in areas like coding. SpaceX also touted the popularity of its AI video tools ahead of its blockbuster IPO.
Sell SpaceX, Buy Tesla?
Here’s a question: If you’re an investor who wants exposure to Elon Musk, is SpaceX or Tesla a better bet? Today, the answer seemed to be Tesla, with shares in the electric automaker climbing 1% to $405.05 as SpaceX shares tumbled 16% to $154.60. SpaceX shares are still above their IPO price of $135 per share, but today was their third consecutive trading day of decline. Some of the drop might be typical post-IPO comedown.
SpaceX to Lease Compute to Reflection for $150 Million Per Month
Source: The Information Open source AI startup Reflection will pay SpaceX $150 million per month for access to compute from its Colossus 2 data center, a person with direct knowledge of the deal said on Monday. The deal begins on July 1 and runs through 2029 but can be canceled by either company with 90 days’ notice, the person said. SpaceX also has deals to lease compute to Anthropic for $1.25 billion per month and to Google for $920 million per month.
SpaceX Names Roelof Botha to Board
Source: The Information SpaceX added Roelof Botha to its board of directors, the company said in a securities filing on Wednesday. Botha was a longtime leader at Sequoia Capital, a major SpaceX investor, and currently represents Sequoia on some boards. He is joining the board in a personal capacity. Botha joins SpaceX’s other board members Ira Ehrenpreis, Randy Glein, Antonio Gracias, Donald Harrison, Steve Jurvetson and Luke Nosek.
Pentagon Says It Used xAI’s Grok in Iran War as DoJ Fights Data Center Lawsuit
Source: The Information The U.S. military used xAI’s Grok to help plan its bombing missions against Iran earlier this year, according to a court filing from a Pentagon official. A Grok model is deployed as part of Maven Smart Systems, a government AI service, to support “vital national security missions” including targeting and intelligence, the Pentagon’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer Cameron Stanely said in a court declaration.
SpaceX Shares Jump 19% in First Day of Trading
Source: The Information SpaceX shares ended their first day of trading at $160.95 on Friday, up 19% from the company’s initial public offering price of $135. Shares of the company opened at $150 per share and climbed as high as $176 shortly after trading began before declining somewhat in the afternoon. The successful first trading day “pop” is a victory for the legions of bankers working on the IPO.
SpaceX’s Starlink Regulatory Approval in India Said to Stall Over Iran War
Source: Bloomberg SpaceX’s Starlink is hitting new roadblocks with regulators India over concerns about how its satellite internet service has been used in the Iran war, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. Iranian regulators have not approved Starlink, but the U.S. has smuggled thousands of terminals into the country, where SpaceX offers internet service despite not having permission to operate, the Wall Street Journal reported in February.
SpaceX Mafia Eagerly Track Mega IPO, Hoping for Industrywide Liftoff
SpaceX’s offices in Texas and California may host the most raucous celebrations when the company’s shares start trading this coming Friday—but an extensive network of companies founded by SpaceX alums will also be popping bottles of bubbly. Startups created by SpaceX veterans are benefiting from a gigantic surge of investor interest in space, while lower launch costs on SpaceX rockets have made new business models plausible.
S&P 500 Won’t Make Change That Would Have Fast-Tracked SpaceX
Source: The Information S&P Dow Jones Indices said Thursday it had decided not to change its rules to make it easier and faster for SpaceX to quickly join the S&P 500 and other indices after it goes public. The group’s index committee had been considering a series of changes that would have let so-called megacap companies join the S&P 500 after six months of being public, compared to 12 months currently, and end a requirement that companies are profitable.
SpaceX Sets $135 Per Share Target Price for IPO
Source: The Information SpaceX plans to sell 555.6 million shares at an expected price of $135 each when it goes public, the company said in a securities filing on Wednesday. SpaceX is expecting to raise $75 billion, more than twice as much as any other IPO in history, at a valuation of $1.77 trillion. Setting an exact price per share at this stage is unusual. Companies usually set a range and gauge demand before deciding on an exact figure.
SpaceX Pushes for IPO Banks to Cut Fees
Source: Bloomberg SpaceX is negotiating to pay the banks working on its potentially record-breaking initial public offering a smaller than normal slice of the proceeds even by mega-IPO standards, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. SpaceX is aiming to raise about $75 billion, more than any other IPO in history, The Information has previously reported. Banks generally charge fees of 4% to 7% of capital raised on smaller IPOs, though that percentage typically shrinks with mega listings.
SpaceX Discloses Updated Details of Anthropic Deal, Flags Data Center Water Risks
Source: The Information SpaceX’s compute rental deal with Anthropic will run for a minimum of six months, according to an amended securities filing on Monday, providing an additional level detail that had not been included in the IPO filing the company made public in May.
Why SpaceX Isn’t Celebrating the Blue Origin Explosion
By now, you’ve probably seen the unbelievable video of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploding on its launchpad in Florida on Thursday night. On its face, Blue Origin’s pain would seem to be Elon Musk’s gain, further cementing SpaceX’s already significant lead in the space business just weeks before it goes public.
SpaceX Committed to Six Month Anthropic Data Center Lease, Musk Says
Source: The Information SpaceX is committed to renting its data center capacity to Anthropic for 180 days, though it could extend the deal for longer, CEO Elon Musk said Thursday. The comment provides more detail than language in SpaceX’s recent public S-1 filing. That document, which SpaceX published last week ahead of its IPO slated for June, said that Anthropic had “agreed to pay us $1.25 billion per month through May 2029” to use compute from its data centers.
SpaceX’s Starlink Coming to Half of American Airlines Main Fleet
Source: The Information American Airlines plans to start adding SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service to around half of its main aircraft fleet beginning early next year, the airline said on Tuesday. The deal will offer in-flight wifi on approximately 500 narrowbody Airbus planes, but does not include the American’s roughly 500 Boeing craft. It also excludes an additional approximately 500 smaller regional planes operated under the American Eagle brand.
SpaceX Completes First Starship Test of 2026
Source: The Information SpaceX held the first launch of the new version of its Starship spacecraft on Friday, successfully sending the craft from its Starbase Texas headquarters to space, where it deployed 22 test satellites. While the launch had some hitches, including an engine failure and an uncontrolled landing of its first stage booster, SpaceX touted the launch as a success.
SpaceX Delays Key Starship Test After Pre-Launch Problems
Source: The Information SpaceX postponed its closely watched first Starship test launch of 2026 after encountering last-minute problems on the launch pad Thursday evening. In a post on X, CEO Elon Musk said the “hydraulic pin holding the tower arm in place did not retract” and said SpaceX would launch the rocket tomorrow if it can fix the problem overnight.
SpaceX’s Anthropic Compute Deal Worth Up to $40 Billion
Source: The Information Anthropic could pay SpaceX up to $40 billion over the next several years to use compute from data centers, but either company has the power to call off the deal early, SpaceX revealed when it filed for an initial public offering on Wednesday. SpaceX is receiving $1.25 billion per month from Anthropic each month through May 2029, though either company can end the deal with 90 days’ notice, SpaceX’s IPO filing says.
The 7 Biggest Reveals in SpaceX’s IPO Filing
SpaceX’s long-awaited public offering paperwork revealed fresh details about its unlikely partnership with Anthropic that are representative of the overall IPO story for Elon Musk’s company: Enormous potential, with risks everywhere. The company said Anthropic agreed to pay SpaceX $1.25 billion per month to rent capacity from both of its supersized data centers in Memphis, called Colossus and Colossus II.
Starship Launch and IPO Filing Mark Critical Week for SpaceX
SpaceX’s draft prospectus, which could become public as soon as later on Wednesday, has prominently positioned a photograph of its Starship rocket, in the very early stages of liftoff, with bright orange flames emerging from its engines and smoke plumes underneath. The photo underlines how the 400-foot-tall rocket is the most significant piece of SpaceX’s investor pitch.
The SpaceXAI Exodus: More Than 50 Recent Exits as Meta, Thinking Machines Hire Staff
Call it the SpaceXAI exodus. More than 50 researchers and engineers working on xAI’s Grok models have left the AI lab since SpaceX acquired it in February, through layoffs, firings and voluntary departures, according to several people with knowledge of the moves. These departures come on top of the exits of all of xAI’s co-founders besides Elon Musk.
Cursor Staff Meet With xAI Employees as Layoffs, Exits Mount
Cursor is already starting to make its presence known at SpaceX’s AI unit, just weeks after Elon Musk’s firm got an option to buy the coding startup for $60 billion. Cursor staffers have been visiting xAI offices to meet with employees and discuss their work, according to two people with direct knowledge of the companies. Fresh xAI exits have followed, including staff cuts last Friday, the people said.
xAI’s Fast, Cheap Data Center Build-Out Has Hidden Costs
SpaceX is touting xAI’s ability to build data centers quickly and cheaply as a major advantage over rival AI labs, part of a pitch for its upcoming initial public offering. For instance, in SpaceX’s draft IPO prospectus, the company said xAI brought the first two chip clusters at its second data center online at roughly a quarter of what it typically costs in the data center industry.
Starcloud in Talks for $2.2 Billion Valuation as SpaceX Stirs Interest
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Starcloud in Talks for $2.2 Billion Valuation as SpaceX Stirs Interest
Starcloud, a two-year-old startup building orbital data centers, has told investors it’s in talks to raise at least $200 million at a valuation of around $2.2 billion after the investment, according to a person involved in the deal. The discussions come just one month after Redmond, Wash.-based Starcloud said it raised $170 million at a $1.1 billion valuation including the investment, which was co-led by early-stage firm Benchmark and private equity firm EQT.
Starlink Mobile Seeing ‘A Lot Less Usage’ Than Expected, T-Mobile CEO Says
Source: The Information The CEO of T-Mobile, which is the only mobile network in the U.S. to offer SpaceX’s Starlink Mobile for backup service in areas not served by cell towers, says the service is seeing “a lot less usage” than it originally expected. Gopalan made the remark on T-Mobile’s earnings call with analysts on Tuesday, crediting T-Mobile’s chief technology officer John Saw with creating a strong network that doesn’t usually need help from Starlink.
SpaceX’s Starlink Revenue Per User Fell 18% As Customers Quadrupled
SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service quadrupled its individual subscribers between 2023 and 2025—but the average revenue each subscriber brought in fell 18% to $81 a month in that period, a draft version of SpaceX’s initial public offering prospectus shows. The decline in Starlink’s ARPU reflects the service’s introduction of cheaper plans and expansion outside North America, where average prices tend to be lower.
Users of xAI’s Grok Report Outages
Source: The Information Users of Grok, the AI chatbot operated by SpaceX subsidiary xAI, reported widespread outages on Thursday. Outages were especially common in New York, Illinois and California, according to the tracking site DownDetector. While it’s unclear exactly how widespread the outages are, many Grok users on Reddit and DownDetector were reporting being unable to access the chatbot. For many users, the chatbot displayed a message: “Grok is under heavy usage right now.
Tesla Discloses $2 Billion Deal for Unnamed AI Hardware Company
Source: The Information Tesla is acquiring an unnamed AI hardware company for up to $2 billion, the company disclosed in a securities filing on Thursday. The electric automaker is paying for the company in common stock and equity awards, $1.8 billion of which is subject to conditions and milestones “dependent on the successful deployment of the company’s technology,” the filing shows.
Elon Musk Strikes Unusually Cautious Tone on Tesla Call
Tesla’s earnings calls are usually freewheeling affairs, with pulsating electronic music and wildly optimistic projections from CEO Elon Musk, who often likes to crack crude jokes and giggle. Today was different. Instead of the typical sci-fi rhapsodies about self-driving vehicles taking over the world and robots solving poverty, Musk spent much of the call talking about constraints on his vision for Tesla.
Tesla Revenue Grew 16% in First Quarter
Source: The Information Tesla revenue reached $22.4 billion in the first quarter, a 16% year-over-year increase, showing that the electric vehicle maker has started to dig its way out of a sales slump. The revenue figure is slightly better than the same period in 2024 but well below the $24.3 billion in revenue Tesla reported during the first quarter of 2023.
Amazon to Invest Up to $25 Billion in Anthropic
Source: The Information Amazon is investing $5 billion into Anthropic now and will invest up to an additional $20 billion tied to commercial milestones, the companies said on Monday. The deal is on top of $8 billion Amazon previously invested in the artificial intelligence company.
xAI to Rent Computing Power to Cursor
Source: Business Insider SpaceX subsidiary xAI will rent computing power from its data centers to the coding startup Cursor, Business Insider reported. Cursor plans to use tens of thousands of xAI’s chips to train its latest AI coding model, according to the report. The arrangement could help SpaceX, which acquired xAI in February, offset some of the artificial intelligence’s cash burn from building data centers.
Amazon to Pay Around $11 Billion for Globalstar, Signs Apple iPhone Deal
Source: The Information Amazon will buy satellite firm Globalstar for around $11 billion and power satellite features on Apple iPhones, the company said Tuesday, in an effort to challenge SpaceX’s Starlink by adding a direct-to-cell service for its upcoming Leo satellite offering. Globalstar owns wireless spectrum and operates satellites that power backup features on iPhones, allowing users to send text messages and use other limited services from devices in isolated areas away from cell towers.
Tesla Can Sell Driving Software in Netherlands in Step Toward EU-Wide Sales
Source: The Information Tesla has won approval to sell its driver assistance software in the Netherlands, the country’s vehicle regulator said on Friday, in a key step toward potentially selling the service in the entire European Union. The Netherlands is the first country in the EU to approve the driving software, which is called “Full Self-Driving Supervised” and is already available in several other countries including the U.S. and China.
Tesla Considers Producing Smaller, Cheaper SUV
Source: The Information Tesla is considering building a new SUV that would be smaller and cheaper than its current vehicle models, Reuters reported on Thursday. The vehicle is under early development and would initially be produced at Tesla’s factory in Shanghai if the company decides to move forward with production, according to the report.
Intel Says It’s Joining SpaceX and Tesla ‘Terafab’ Project
Source: The Information Intel says it’s now involved in a chip-making project led by Elon Musk’s companies SpaceX and Tesla, though neither company provided details on how they will work together or a timeline for the project. Musk announced plans for Terafab at an event in Texas last month, saying that it will eventually manufacture chips for Tesla’s vehicles and robots, as well as SpaceX satellites. He did not provide a timeline or estimated cost for the project.
Why SpaceX Has an Uphill Battle Growing Starlink Mobile
SpaceX executives say its Starlink Mobile direct-to-cell service offered through mobile carriers will eventually reach hundreds of millions of customers around the globe, which would help justify SpaceX’s valuation. But right now, the service’s revenue is tiny.
SpaceX Delays Next Starship Test Launch Again
Source: The Information SpaceX has pushed back the timeline for the next test launch of its next-generation Starship rocket again, with CEO Elon Musk now saying the next test will occur in May. Starship has not launched since October 2025, and still needs several more test launches before it can start making commercial missions. Musk had said this January that the next test would occur in March, then delayed the timeline to April.
Amazon in Talks to Acquire Globalstar
Source: Financial Times Amazon is in talks to acquire satellite company Globalstar, which provides backup texting services for iPhones, the Financial Times reported. The move would bolster Amazon’s efforts to compete with SpaceX, which has also considered buying Globalstar. Any acquisition of Globalstar would be complicated because Apple owns a 20% stake in the company following a $1.5 billion investment in 2024.
Tesla Vehicle Deliveries Climb 6% Year-Over-Year
Source: The Information Tesla delivered 358,000 vehicles in the first quarter, a 6% year-over-year increase, the company said in a filing on Thursday. Deliveries in the first quarter were still lower than the same periods in 2023 and 2024, according to Tesla’s disclosures. They also undershot an analyst consensus projection published by Tesla last week, which had forecast 367,000 deliveries.
Amazon’s Starlink Rival to Offer Wifi on 500 Delta Air Lines Planes
Source: The Information Amazon Leo, the company’s upcoming alternative to SpaceX’s Starlink internet service, will power wifi on 500 Delta Air Lines planes, the companies said on Tuesday. Delta Air Lines currently offers wifi from Viasat and Echostar’s HughesNet, two satellite connectivity services that have been challenged by newer technologies like Starlink and Leo. Amazon Leo will be available on Delta planes starting in 2028, executives from Amazon and Delta said in a joint interview.
Nasdaq Rule Change Would Speed Index Entry for SpaceX IPO
Source: The Information Nasdaq will change a rule for its flagship stock index to allow newly public companies to gain entry much more quickly, in a move that would help SpaceX and other companies expected to have gigantic initial public offerings this year. In a rule change outlined Monday and effective May 1, Nasdaq-listed companies will be able to join the index after 15 days of trading, down from three months currently.
SpaceX Hype Boosts Stocks in Its Crosshairs
Stocks in rocket launch and satellite companies have surged over the past year, as SpaceX’s soaring private valuation and steps toward what could be a record-smashing initial public offering drums up enthusiasm for all things outer space. But most of the companies whose stocks have been rocketing are at risk if SpaceX solidifies its lead in launches and satellite-powered communications.
X Lays Off CMO, Other Staff Ahead of SpaceX IPO
Source: The Wall Street Journal Elon Musk’s X laid off its chief marketing officer and more than 20 other staff in non-engineering roles in recent weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported. The company has also brought in Jon Shulkin, a longtime Musk investor and ally, to work as chief revenue officer as the site tries to cut costs and boost revenue, the Journal reported. X was acquired by Musk’s AI firm, xAI, last year. And in turn, xAI was acquired by SpaceX in February.
Elon Musk Says Tesla and SpaceX Will Manufacture Chips at ‘Terafab’
Source: The Information Elon Musk said Tesla and SpaceX will build a “Terafab” together in Austin that will design and manufacture semiconductors for both companies, though he did not provide a timeline for the project. The factory, located near Tesla’s current Austin headquarters, will eventually produce two series of chips: one tailored to projects including Tesla’s Cybercab and Optimus robot, and another for space, Musk said at an event in Austin Saturday, which was livestreamed.
Elon Musk Misled Twitter Investors, Jury Finds
Source: The Information A jury found Elon Musk liable on Friday for some Twitter investor losses relating to his threat to back out of his acquisition of the social media site in 2022. Musk had struck a deal to buy Twitter for $54.20 per share in April of 2022. But in July of that year, he tried to back out of it, blaming what he said were a high number of bots and spam accounts on the site. The statements led to fluctuations in Twitter’s share price that led to losses for some investors.
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin Wants to Launch Data Centers into Space
Source: The Information Jeff Bezos’ space firm Blue Origin asked the U.S. government for permission to launch up to 51,600 satellites that would one day handle artificial intelligence computing from orbit. The plan could put Blue Origin in competition with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which said in a January filing that it wants to put as many as one million satellites into space to form a gigantic data center.
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