Elon Musk said SpaceX agreed to lease its Colossus AI training data-center clusters to Anthropic for six months [1].
This clarification corrects previous reports suggesting a multi-year agreement. The shift in timeline indicates a more volatile arrangement for Anthropic, which relies on massive compute power to train its artificial intelligence models.
Musk addressed the terms of the deal on Thursday, May 28, and said that the lease is for six months and is not a long-term commitment [2]. This contradicts earlier reports that the lease would run through May 2029 [3].
The arrangement involves a potential AI compute deal valued at $45 billion [4]. However, Musk said that SpaceX maintains significant control over the hardware. He said that the company might need the compute capacity back if availability becomes "super tight" [5].
Despite the potential for a sudden recall of resources, Musk said SpaceX will not leave the AI startup hanging. He said that the company would provide a reasonable off-ramp for Anthropic if the lease is terminated early [6].
The Colossus clusters represent a critical piece of infrastructure in the race to develop advanced AI. By limiting the lease to a short window, SpaceX retains the flexibility to pivot its hardware resources toward its own internal projects, or other partners, as demand fluctuates [7].
“"The lease is for six months, not a long-term commitment."”
The move signals that SpaceX is prioritizing operational flexibility over guaranteed long-term revenue. By avoiding a multi-year lock-in, Musk ensures that SpaceX can reclaim its most powerful compute assets to support its own AI ambitions or respond to sudden shifts in the hardware market, placing the burden of infrastructure stability on Anthropic.
