SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son has publicly questioned Elon Musk’s vision for orbital data centers, arguing that building compute infrastructure in space will neither cut costs meaningfully nor arrive in time for the current AI arms race.
Speaking at a SoftBank shareholder meeting on June 23, Son said that power accounts for only about 7 percent of AI infrastructure costs, with chips and other hardware making up the remaining 93 percent. Any power savings from orbit would be eaten by launch costs, maintenance, and communication latency.
“In the battle for AI, the next few years will be far more important than what might happen a decade or so from now,” Son said. “He who strikes first wins.”
The debate over where to build
Musk has proposed placing data centers in orbit, where unlimited solar power, no land costs, and no grid constraints could theoretically reduce operational expenses. SpaceX, with its dominant launch business and Starlink satellite network, is uniquely positioned to support such an infrastructure.
But Son, whose SoftBank Group has committed up to EUR 75 billion (approximately US$80 billion) to terrestrial data centers in France alone, is betting the other direction. Deutsche Bank has estimated orbital data centers will not approach cost parity with ground-based facilities until well into the 2030s.
No impartial observers
A TechCrunch panel discussion highlighted that neither side is neutral. SpaceX’s launch market share sits at roughly 80 to 90 percent globally with Starlink integrated around 20 to 40 percent without it. An orbital data center program would guarantee years of launch contracts for SpaceX.
“Masayoshi Son is known for wild bets, so him being the skeptic is notable,” said TechCrunch’s Kirsten Korosec. Sean O’Kane added that orbital data centers would require satellite constellations needing replacement every few years, ensuring “that much more business for your launch business.”
SoftBank has meanwhile been investing heavily in terrestrial capacity through Arm Holdings and the SoftBank Vision Fund, including recent investments in OpenAI. Son called Musk a “remarkable agent of change” before dismissing his orbital plan outright.
Sources: SoftBank’s CEO isn’t the only one with questions about Elon Musk’s orbital data center hype (TechCrunch, June 27, 2026); SoftBank Focuses on Earth-Based Data Centers Over Space Ventures (GuruFocus, June 23, 2026); Startup Fortune analysis (June 2026)