Morgan Stanley: Robot Cluster to Form 'Distributed Intelligence Cloud,' Providing SpaceX with Hybrid Compute Architecture
August 14th. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas put forward a market-overlooked judgment in his latest research report: By 2040, the distributed computing power of a robot cluster may help SpaceX reach the 1 terawatt goal faster than any data center. Morgan Stanley estimates that by 2040, the total number of robots in various forms will reach about 2.2 billion units. Calculated at 500 watts of computing power per unit, the total will be about 1.1 terawatts, theoretically all of which can be connected through Starlink.
Prior to this, Musk revealed that the Tesla AI5 chip designed for Optimus has a power consumption of 250 watts, a number that Morgan Stanley believes will increase over time. This is what Morgan Stanley refers to as the "distributed inference cloud" - a network of fixed and mobile edge nodes that connect to large-scale data center clusters to form a hybrid computing architecture. Morgan Stanley points out that Tesla investors are no strangers to the "distributed inference cloud." Musk has discussed multiple times the use of idle vehicles and Megapods deployed at supercharging stations to build a large-scale distributed computing network. As SpaceX's collaboration with Tesla deepens, SpaceX investors also need to become familiar with this computing deployment logic.
In addition to the computing power narrative, Morgan Stanley also tracked SpaceX's AI model progress - Grok 4.6 has reached a score of 61 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, close to the current highest score of 63, and its cost is comparable to Kimi K3. Musk stated that Grok 4.7 will be ready in 3 to 4 weeks, with Grok 5 expected to be released by the end of the year. In terms of computing power pricing, it is predicted that the weighted average computing power price in the fourth quarter of 2026 will be around $31 per watt, but stress tests show that if this price persists through 2027, it will bring about $42 billion in incremental revenue, nearly a threefold increase in revenue.
Morgan Stanley also emphasized that the 14th Starship flight is one of the most important stock price catalysts since SpaceX's IPO. If the spaceship tower catch is achieved for the first time, it will represent one of the most significant milestones in spaceflight history and open up new growth opportunities for the space, connectivity, and AI business. Morgan Stanley's target price for SpaceX is $300, believing that SpaceX proving its ability to maintain a leading position in AI models and convert it into actual usage is key to a substantial valuation reassessment.