ChipsAugust 4, 2026via TechCrunch AI
SpaceX has bought $329M worth of Tesla Megapacks so far this year
Why it matters
SpaceX's massive Megapack purchases reveal the hidden infrastructure economics of AI factories: power and cooling are now as critical (and expensive) as silicon itself. This signals how seriously the frontier labs are investing in on-prem energy sovereignty.
Key signals
- SpaceX spent $329M on Tesla Megapacks for xAI data centers in 2026 YTD
- Megapacks are utility-scale battery systems for power stability and peak shaving
- xAI data centers require massive energy infrastructure beyond just GPUs
- On-prem buildout strategy includes energy independence and grid management
The hook
$329M. That's what SpaceX has spent on Tesla battery systems for xAI data centers in 2026 alone—a window into the real cost of the compute buildout.
SpaceX has ramped up its purchases of Tesla Megapacks for its xAI data centers.