By Akash SriramAug 5 (Reuters) - SpaceX touted faster-than-expected returns from its AI spending on its first-ever earnings call as a public company. SpaceX reported AI revenue that more than tripled from a year earlier and disclosed several new cloud computing agreements, even as quarterly capital spending on AI climbed to $15.8 billion. Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen said the economics of those investments were improving rapidly, but also signaled that AI spending would remain elevated. THE AI ​PAYBACK ​BETThe comments at the post-earnings call marked a shift in the investment debate surrounding SpaceX. Before the ​earnings release, investors largely viewed Starlink's growing cash flows as the ‌primary source of funding for the company's AI ambitions.