Musk Says SpaceX Closes $40 Billion Debt Financing to Buy GPUs
Key Facts
Elon Musk said SpaceX had closed $40 billion in debt financing to buy graphics processing units, turning a financing plan covered in earlier reports into a completed deal. Musk said the debt was primarily callable and that the processing units would arrive in the first and second quarters. He did not describe the financing as being for AI infrastructure, instead linking it to the purchase of the units. Musk played down the deal’s near-term impact on results, saying it was "not a major factor this quarter." The announcement comes as the company expands its operations and revenue, and after it said its quarterly results had improved sharply.
EL7 covered SpaceX’s plan to raise $40 billion to buy chips from Nvidia on October 6, before publishing a report on October 23 about complications in its financing efforts as borrowing costs rose. Musk’s announcement confirms the financing has closed, but gives no details on the interest rate, maturities or call terms. Describing the debt as primarily callable identifies a key feature of its structure without explaining when or under what conditions it can be called. Musk said the processing units would arrive in the first and second quarters, without specifying a year in the reported statement. The timing of the units’ arrival is therefore the main operational detail disclosed alongside the financing amount.
SpaceX said revenue was $14.6 billion in the quarter ended September 30, 2026, up 161% from $5.6 billion in the third quarter of 2025. It also reported net income of $4.4 billion, compared with a net loss of $1.1 billion a year earlier. Revenue in its communications segment, which includes Starlink, was $5.2 billion, up 69% year over year. Revenue in its artificial intelligence segment was $7.6 billion, an annual increase of 830%. The company said the expansion of computing infrastructure was one reason for higher costs in the segment, while the Associated Press said AI had become SpaceX’s largest activity by revenue, with Starlink remaining its biggest source of profit.
On SpaceX’s ability to access credit, Musk attributed it to the company’s investment-grade rating, Starlink revenue and launch business. That explanation puts existing revenue sources at the center of his account of its borrowing capacity, alongside its credit rating. Company data showed total debt principal of $38.006 billion on September 30, 2026, compared with $22.049 billion on December 31, 2025. The comparison reflects an increase in outstanding debt between the two dates, while the new financing is a deal Musk said he had closed to buy the processing units. The statement did not say how much was actually added to outstanding debt or when it was recorded.
In trading, SPCX shares closed at $147.49 on October 23, according to EL7 data, after closing at $144.75 on October 22. Available closing data are limited to those two prices and do not include details on the high or low during the October 23 session. The stock also rose 7.5% in after-hours trading following the third-quarter results announcement, the Associated Press reported. That move was tied to the quarterly results announcement, and the data do not attribute it to the debt-financing announcement. The financing announcement came after that close, placing the share move in a separate timeline from the market’s reaction to the results.