Elon Musk described SpaceX's major computing agreement with Anthropic as merely a short-term lease, directly contradicting the company's IPO prospectus that valued the deal at up to $45 billion. The filing stated Anthropic agreed to pay $1.25 billion monthly through May 2029, positioning SpaceX as a significant AI cloud provider ahead of its planned listing.

Musk's X post called the arrangement a 180-day lease with mutual cancellation rights, suggesting the revenue projections may be overstated. He noted the short-term structure was SpaceX's request, not Anthropic's, and the company might need the computing capacity back if demand tightens. The prospectus did disclose termination clauses allowing either party to end the deal with 90 days' notice.

This contradiction emerges during the SEC-mandated quiet period following SpaceX's IPO filing, raising questions about disclosure accuracy. The deal involves SpaceX's massive Colossus data centre in Tennessee, which supports Musk's AI venture xAI after its absorption earlier this year. While xAI's Grok models trail competitors like Claude and ChatGPT, the facility represents SpaceX's push into AI infrastructure.

Former SEC official John Coates suggested regulators are unlikely to pursue enforcement over Musk's social media comments during quiet periods. However, the tweet undermines SpaceX's narrative as a major AI compute provider and raises investor concerns about deal reliability.