Elon Musk's SpaceX has positioned artificial intelligence (AI) at the heart of its future growth strategy, envisioning a market worth trillions. However, the company faces a significant challenge: convincing users to choose its AI models over those from competitors like OpenAI and Anthropic.

In financial disclosures ahead of an expected IPO, SpaceX highlighted its fledgling AI division, which now oversees Grok AI models developed by Musk's xAI. The company claims this sector holds the 'largest actionable total addressable market in human history,' with a projected value of $26.5 trillion.

Despite these ambitious forecasts, SpaceX must contend with well-funded rivals backed by Big Tech. Musk himself has admitted that before the merger, xAI was 'the smallest of the AI companies.' The Grok chatbot, heavily integrated into X (Musk's social media platform), lags behind competitors in user engagement.

A recent survey revealed that only 0.174% of respondents paid for Grok in Q2 2026, compared to a surprising 6.35% who used OpenAI’s ChatGPT. SpaceX must bridge this gap if it hopes to capitalize on the AI boom.