Three major breakthroughs are coming! Big news from Elon Musk! SpaceX and xAI are reported to be participating in AI weapon project bids

Multiple companies under Elon Musk’s umbrella are making big headlines!

First, on February 18, a reporter from Securities Times learned from Tesla China that the first mass-produced Tesla Cybercab autonomous electric vehicle has rolled off the line at the Texas Gigafactory in the United States. Tesla CEO Elon Musk posted, “Congratulations to the Tesla team on successfully manufacturing the first mass-produced Cybercab.”

Second, on February 17, local time, Ireland’s regulatory authority announced a large-scale investigation into Musk’s social media platform X, focusing on issues related to its built-in AI chatbot “Grok” generating and publishing pornographic images. The day before, the X platform experienced a sudden outage, with over 10,000 users worldwide reporting “unable to access.”

Finally, Bloomberg reported that Musk’s SpaceX and its wholly owned subsidiary xAI are participating in a highly classified Pentagon bid aimed at developing voice-controlled autonomous drone swarm technology. This indicates that Musk’s companies are entering the new frontier of AI weapon development.

Tesla Major Announcement

On February 18, a reporter from Securities Times learned from Tesla China that the first mass-produced Tesla Cybercab autonomous electric vehicle has rolled off the line at the Texas Gigafactory in the United States. Tesla CEO Elon Musk posted, “Congratulations to the Tesla team on successfully manufacturing the first mass-produced Cybercab.”

The Cybercab is a Tesla-designed autonomous vehicle built specifically for self-driving, with no steering wheel or pedals. Musk has previously revealed multiple times that Cybercab would begin production in April 2026. It now appears that the production schedule has been moved up ahead of the original plan.

The Cybercab aims to optimize the full lifecycle cost per mile and achieve utilization rates five times higher than passenger cars (about 50–60 hours of use per week). At the 8th China International Import Expo last November, Tesla’s autonomous electric vehicle Cybercab made its Asia-Pacific debut. Tesla staff at the time disclosed that Cybercab is equipped with wireless charging technology and an automatic cleaning robotic arm, fully prepared for large-scale deployment.

Tesla previously stated that the production growth of Cybercab will follow an S-curve, with long-term output expected to far exceed the total of all other Tesla models.

On February 18, the California Department of Motor Vehicles also announced that, following Tesla’s rectification of its marketing claims regarding autonomous driving features, the 30-day sales ban on the brand has been officially lifted. This means Tesla has achieved compliance by adjusting user notifications without changing the technical terminology.

X Undergoing Large-Scale Investigation

On February 17, the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) announced on its website that it has launched a large-scale investigation into X Internet Unlimited Company (XIUC) under Article 110 of the 2018 Data Protection Act. This is the latest EU measure in response to deepfake pornographic images.

The investigation concerns the apparent creation and publication on X of “potentially harmful, non-consensual intimate and/or sexualized images,” which involve or otherwise relate to the processing of personal data of EU/EEA data subjects (including children), and utilize generative AI features related to the Grok large language model within X.

Grok, developed by Musk’s AI company xAI, is accessible via X and its responses to user requests are publicly visible, allowing others to view.

Last month, Grok’s AI image generation and editing features allowed users to “digitally disrobe” others’ photos, dressing female bodies in revealing clothing, sparking global outrage. Researchers pointed out that some images appeared to involve children. Several governments have urgently banned the service or issued warnings. X subsequently introduced some restrictions on Grok, but European authorities remain dissatisfied.

The DPC stated that it notified X on Monday (February 16) to conduct an investigation under strict EU data privacy regulations. The purpose is to determine whether XIUC complies with obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), including Articles 5 (principles relating to processing), 6 (lawfulness of processing), 25 (data protection by design and default), and 35 (data protection impact assessment).

According to regulations, since X’s European headquarters are located in Dublin, Ireland’s regulator is responsible for enforcing EU privacy rules. If violations are found, X could face hefty fines.

Earlier this month, French prosecutors raided X’s Paris office and summoned Musk for questioning. Meanwhile, the UK’s data privacy and media regulator, no longer part of the EU, has also launched an investigation into X.

SpaceX and xAI Reported to Participate in AI Weapon Bid

According to Bloomberg, sources familiar with the matter revealed that Musk’s SpaceX and its wholly owned subsidiary xAI are participating in a highly confidential Pentagon competition aimed at developing voice-controlled, autonomous drone swarms.

The report states that these two companies, which Musk announced would merge in early February, are venturing into the new frontier of AI weapon development, marking another potentially controversial expansion of Musk’s business empire. While SpaceX is an established defense contractor and Musk actively promotes AI development, he has also previously been an advocate against creating new killing tools.

Sources say that in a January challenge with a prize pool of up to $100 million, only a few companies were selected to participate, including Musk’s.

This six-month competition aims to develop advanced swarm technology capable of converting voice commands into digital instructions to control multiple drones. Although multi-drone flight is already possible, creating software that can command aerial and maritime drone swarms to autonomously track targets remains a challenge. Insiders say the competition will proceed in phases based on results and interest.

The Pentagon’s contest is jointly organized by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), which aims to bring Silicon Valley startups into defense, and the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group (DAWG), a new agency under the U.S. Special Operations Command established during the Biden administration. DAWG continues some elements of the Trump-era “Replicator” program, which aimed to produce thousands of autonomous drones.

The project will proceed through five phases, from software development to field testing. A defense official stated in the January announcement that these drones will be used for offensive purposes, and that human-machine interaction will “directly impact the systems’ lethality and effectiveness.”

xAI’s website shows that the company has recently begun aggressive recruiting, seeking engineers from Washington or the West Coast with “secret” or “top secret” security clearances to work with federal contractors. A job posting states they are looking for software engineers with experience working on AI, software, or data projects with government agencies, the Department of Defense, or federal contractors, with hiring to be completed within a week.

(Article source: Securities Times)