Smile, Elon, you’re on camera: SpaceX made its earnings call must-see TV for Musk fans

SpaceX’s superfans may have found their next must-see TV.

The rocket and AI company’s third-quarter earnings call on Tuesday included a live video stream featuring SpaceX’s big three: CEO Elon Musk, COO Gwynne Shotwell, and CFO Bret Johnson.

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The video, which opened with cinematic shots of SpaceX’s products, featured the executives seated at a table speaking to the camera from theSpaceX Starlink factory in Bastrop, Texas, with SpaceX-branded water bottles in front of them.

“In order to understand the nature of the universe and all these fundamental questions, we must expand the scope and scale of consciousness,” Musk said in a recording that played over images of space and the moon, with the result looking far more like a trailer for a sci-fi film than the start of a corporate earnings report.

Musk wore a black T-shirt featuring a logo for Grok, SpaceX’s AI assistant, and a black leather jacket, a classic sartorial choice famously favored by another Big Tech CEO.

SpaceX also used the video format to share a recap video of a recent Starship flight as well as a dramatic video simulation, complete with orchestral music, of an upcoming flight in which the company’s giant mechanical arms and standwill try to catch both the booster and the ship, calling it a “profound technology milestone in the history of civilization and consciousness.”

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While earnings calls generally include live audio, live video streams are far less common. SpaceX’s first earnings report as a public company in August did not include video. Netflix, Duolingo, and Robinhood have all livestreamed their earnings calls.

Netflix has streamed live video of its earnings calls for years, including its latest call on Tuesday, which featured its co-CEOs. Robinhood’s CEO told The Verge last year the company’s video earnings call was inspired by the NBA post-game interview.

SpaceX reported a significant increase in both AI spending and revenue. The stock was up 5% in after-hours trading.

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