Elon Musk wants humanoid robots to build Moon factories, says it could make Earth's economy 1,000 times bigger

Elon Musk has outlined one of SpaceX's most ambitious ideas yet: sending humanoid robots to the Moon to build factories and industrial infrastructure before humans take over. Speaking during the company's latest earnings call, Musk said robotic construction on the lunar surface could eventually help expand Earth's economy by as much as 1,000 times. "It sounds super sci-fi right now, but it's going to happen," Musk said, describing a future where autonomous machines manufacture equipment and build critical infrastructure beyond Earth.

Why Musk wants factories on the Moon

According to Musk, building factories in space offers several advantages over Earth-based manufacturing. Cooling systems would require fewer resources, while autonomous robots could perform dangerous or repetitive work without human intervention. Musk also argued that SpaceX's satellites should already be viewed as robots because they operate autonomously and do not require regular servicing. One of the long-term goals is to build a mass accelerator on the Moon a system capable of launching cargo into space without traditional rockets. Musk believes humanoid robots would be essential for constructing and maintaining such large-scale infrastructure. However, he admitted the proposal currently sounds "totally nuts" and offered no timeline for when it could become reality.

Will Tesla's Optimus robots be used?

SpaceX did not reveal whether it plans to deploy Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots or develop a new generation of robotic workers specifically for lunar operations. The company also did not disclose investment plans or a roadmap for building Moon-based factories. For now, the project remains part of Musk's long-term vision for expanding humanity's industrial footprint beyond Earth. The announcement comes days after a discarded upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket reportedly impacted the Moon after drifting in space for more than a year following a 2025 lunar mission.

Nvidia partnership powers SpaceX's AI ambitions

Alongside its lunar plans, SpaceX also announced a partnership with Nvidia to develop Starmind AI-1, an orbital data centre powered by Nvidia's latest Rubin GPUs and Vera CPUs. Musk said the first Starmind satellites are expected to launch next year and confirmed SpaceX will build its AI infrastructure exclusively on Nvidia hardware. "We think the Vera Rubin architecture is the best AI computer," Musk said, calling Nvidia a key strategic partner as SpaceX expands its artificial intelligence capabilities both in orbit and, eventually, on the Moon.