Sam Altman criticises Elon Musk’s space-based data centres idea

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are famously known for not seeing eye to eye on many issues.

Their latest disagreement: data centers located in space. Musk is focused on making it happen, while Altman considers it mere imagination, at least for the moment.

"I do think the idea of setting up data centers in space with the present technology is incredible," Altman mentioned during a live discussion with the press in New Delhi on Friday, which led to laughter among the attendees.

Altman suggested that data centers situated in space "might be logical in the future," yet the current expenses of launching and the complications of servicing a chip in orbit are major hurdles.

"We're just not there yet," Altman continued. "The time will come. Space has many great uses. Orbital data centers aren't something that will be significant on a large scale this decade."

Musk is likely to have a different opinion.

While many major technology and AI firms invest heavily in constructing data centers here on Earth, as usual, Musk is looking towards space. 

Orbiting data centers are his latest aspiration, as he shared during an all-hands xAI meeting in December.

In February, SpaceX announced its ambition to launch a "network of a million satellites functioning as space-based data centres." 

The organisation has already started recruiting engineers for bringing this vision to life.

In a recent all-hands meeting with xAI staff, Musk stated that acquiring xAI by SpaceX will accelerate the development of these orbital data centers.

Despite Altman's doubts, other tech executives are also pushing to establish data centers in space. Unveiled in November 2025, Google's Project Suncatcher plans to do exactly this. 

Google CEO Sundar Pichai mentioned on Fox News Sunday that the company could potentially begin setting up solar-powered data centres in space by 2027.

Technology and AI companies depend on data centres to support their offerings, like robust language processors and chat services. 

However, these data centers can consume water resources, heavily load power infrastructures, contribute to pollution, and negatively impact living conditions.

An in-depth Business Insider report released last year revealed that by the conclusion of 2024, over 1,200 data centres had received approval to start construction across the United States, nearly four times the number from 2010.

Currently, proposed data center facilities in Texas, Oklahoma, and other areas are increasingly facing pushback from nearby communities.