Musk Warns of Power Constraints as SpaceX Computing Capacity Reaches 1.7 Gigawatts
Key Facts
Elon Musk described power, cooling and electrical equipment infrastructure as significant constraints on the expansion of superintelligence during SpaceX's earnings call on Tuesday, according to Investing.com coverage. His remarks came as the company's nameplate computing capacity reached 1.7 gigawatts by the end of September 2026, according to its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Musk was addressing the expansion requirements associated with providing electricity, cooling and electrical equipment for computing infrastructure. Against that backdrop, Bloom Energy is deploying fuel cells at Oracle projects in the United States, according to a company announcement. Bloom has also expanded its partnership with Brookfield to finance power projects linked to AI infrastructure.
The difficulty of securing electricity is highlighted in the midyear update to Bloom's survey of data center developers, which examined their plans when grid power cannot be relied upon. The survey found that 61% of developers plan to supply their own power if grid electricity is unavailable. At the same time, the company's report said community scrutiny had become a growing obstacle to data center development, alongside the power supply constraints facing these projects. Concerns among communities surrounding development sites include electricity prices, water consumption and grid reliability, according to the report. Bloom described this issue by saying that "community scrutiny has become a growing obstacle" in its assessment of the factors facing AI data center growth.
On the project front, Bloom announced in April 2026 an expansion of its strategic partnership with Oracle under a framework agreement supporting up to 2.8 gigawatts of fuel cell capacity. When announcing the agreement, the company said deployment of an initial 1.2 gigawatts was already underway across Oracle projects in the United States. The initial capacity relates to deployment work underway at the time of the announcement, within the broader partnership to power AI infrastructure. In June 2026, Bloom also announced an expansion of its power project financing framework with Brookfield to $25 billion, compared with $5 billion under the previous framework. The announced expansion covered the amount of financing under the partnership, while the Oracle agreement addressed the fuel cell capacity whose deployment it supports.
Alongside the project and financing agreements, Bloom announced its "Power Connect" system in August 2026 to simplify the installation of power systems at project sites. It said the system moves core electrical integration work from the project site to the factory, as part of the deployment arrangements outlined in its product announcement. According to the company's estimate, the system can reduce on-site power system installation time by more than 40%, a figure specific to the on-site installation phase. In a separate announcement in September 2026, Bloom showcased its fuel cells' ability to generate 800-volt direct current directly. The company said power generation at this voltage is continuous, adding another aspect to the power specifications it offers for AI data centers.
Financially, Bloom reported revenue of $1,065.4 million in the second quarter of 2026, according to results filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Year-over-year revenue growth was 165.5% compared with the second quarter of 2025, when the company reported revenue of $401.2 million. These results came during the period in which the company announced the expanded Oracle agreement and the larger financing framework with Brookfield. In the stock market, an Investing.com report published on Tuesday said Bloom shares fell 5.0% in morning trading to $214.91. That price was recorded during the previous session, ahead of the next quarterly earnings release, which the company scheduled for Thursday after the market close.
Bloom had raised its 2026 revenue forecast to between $3.9 billion and $4.2 billion when it announced its second-quarter results. That range covers full-year revenue, according to the earnings filing, while the latest quarterly revenue cited in it relates to the period ending in the second quarter. The company said in the filing that it was "raising its full-year 2026 revenue forecast to between $3.9 billion and $4.2 billion." The next disclosure covers third-quarter results for the same year, according to Bloom's announcement setting the financial results release date. The company is scheduled to report those results on 22 October 2026, after the market close, according to its officially announced schedule.