SpaceX Is Spending $2.8 Billion to Buy Gas Turbines for Its AI Data Centers
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Elon Musk’s SpaceX committed to spending over $2.8 billion in recent months to buy gas turbines to power data centers for its artificial intelligence unit, the company revealed in a regulatory filing on Wednesday.
Key facts
In March, SpaceX agreed to buy $805 million worth of turbines from an unnamed company through 2029, according to the IPO filing
Last week, WIRED reported that 19 new portable turbines had been added to Colossus 2 over the past two months, for a total of 46 units
To support the chatbot and other AI efforts, xAI operates a pair of data centers known as Colossus 1 in Memphis, Tennessee, and Colossus 2 in Southaven, Mississippi
Elon Musk’s SpaceX committed to spending over $2.8 billion in recent months to buy gas turbines to power data centers for its artificial intelligence unit, the company revealed in a regulatory filing
Summary
The relatively large investment shows that Musk is continuing to double down on gas turbines, even after SpaceX’s use of them prompted public complaints, a lawsuit, and regulatory inquiries into whether the company may be polluting the air with carbon emissions and dodging environmental requirements. A shortage of electricity is the leading constraint on an otherwise roaring data center boom happening across the US. In addition to launching rockets and selling satellite internet, SpaceX also owns Musk’s xAI unit, which develops Grok. The new details about SpaceX’s energy spending are part of a wave of disclosures in the company’s prospectus for its initial public offering, a lengthy document that is designed to help potential investors understand the company’s financial health and long-term risks.