Space Exploration Technologies Corp. showed investors and other stakeholders an early prototype of a handheld artificial intelligence device ahead of its planned initial public offering, the Wall Street Journal reported, a claim Chief Executive Elon Musk quickly rejected as “utterly false.”

The device is designed as a consumer product slimmer than an iPhone, with a sleek casing and a proprietary operating system built around xAI technology, according to the report, which cited people familiar with the matter. Qualcomm Inc.’s Snapdragon silicon would sit inside the casing.

SpaceX reportedly told investors the project remains at an early stage, that the design could still change and there is no guarantee the device will ever reach the market.

Musk denied the account in a post on X on Wednesday, writing, “Utterly false” without offering further detail.

If accurate, the prototype would mark SpaceX’s furthest push yet beyond rockets and satellite internet. SpaceX absorbed xAI, maker of the Grok large language model, in an all-stock deal early this year and has since moved to fold the AI unit fully into its own operations. A branded device would extend that in-house stack from silicon and models through to consumer hardware and fit Musk’s long-stated ambition to build an “everything app” that loosens the grip Apple Inc. and Google LLC hold over mobile.

Musk raised the idea himself back in November 2022. Apple and Google had reportedly floated pulling Twitter, now X, over how it moderated content. Musk’s answer at the time was that he would just build his own phone. Most read it as bluster.

Turning an AI device into a viable product has proved difficult for those who have tried. The Humane AI Pin, a $700 wearable that also required a $24 monthly subscription, was switched off last year after its maker sold its assets to HP Inc. The Rabbit R1, a cheaper handheld pitched on a “Large Action Model” that could operate apps on a user’s behalf, also struggled to find a market.

Apple is weighing its own entries in the category, reportedly including an AI pin or pendant and camera-equipped smart glasses, while Google keeps pushing its Gemini assistant across hardware. None has landed on a form factor that convincingly replaces the smartphone.

SpaceX has not commented publicly beyond Musk’s post. The company went public on the Nasdaq stock market in June in the largest initial public offering on record, raising about $75 billion at a valuation near $1.77 trillion.

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