Musk blasts memory makers' 'extortionate' pricing, praises Micron
Amid an ongoing shortage of conventional DRAM and high-bandwidth memory, Elon Musk posted on X that Micron has been "reasonable regarding future memory prices, while others have been extortionate, which is something today's customers will not forget," calling Micron's stance smart for long-term customer loyalty. Musk did not name the companies he was criticizing or disclose any pricing terms, so it is impossible to verify whether Samsung and SK hynix charge substantially more than Micron for comparable products, though the report reads his remarks as aimed at the two South Korean makers. The report notes Micron's latest quarter (fiscal Q4 2026) showed $54.23 billion in revenue and an 81% GAAP gross margin, up from 40% a year earlier, plus 26 long-term supply agreements covering more than 35% of expected revenue through 2030 with $32 billion in customer financial commitments; Samsung reportedly locked up long-term contracts for 75%–80% of its planned 2027 memory output.
AI data center demand has turned DRAM and HBM from commodity parts into strategic assets, and with shortages expected to persist through at least 2028, pricing and long-term supply deals will shape AI compute costs and availability.