Musk Targets Raising SpaceX’s Computing Capacity to 13 Gigawatts by End-2027
Key Facts
SpaceX is targeting total computing capacity of 13 gigawatts by the end of 2027, after Elon Musk expressed confidence that it would add 10 gigawatts next year, according to remarks on the company’s earnings call on October 20. The target puts the company’s data-center expansion on a fast track, while research firm SemiAnalysis said on November 3 that it already sees 3.6 gigawatts under construction across existing and new sites. SemiAnalysis estimated the potential capacity it had identified at more than 9 gigawatts. Musk said reaching a figure above 20 gigawatts remained a possibility, adding that the odds of achieving it were rising quickly. The target follows an expansion in the company’s announced computing capacity to 1.7 gigawatts at the end of September.
The move from 1.7 gigawatts at the end of the third quarter to a target of 13 gigawatts by the end of 2027 represents a substantial increase in the capacity the company must build and operate. SpaceX’s results showed nominal computing capacity rising from 0.6 gigawatts on September 30, 2025, to 1.4 gigawatts on June 30, 2026, and then to 1.7 gigawatts on September 30, 2026. In a June bulletin, the company said its Colossus and Colossus II facilities together provided about 1.0 gigawatt of computing capacity, with additional capacity available for data-center operations. SemiAnalysis compared the potential buildout with the data-center capacity Google built over the period from 1999 to 2026, saying SpaceX could build a similar amount in 1.5 years. The estimate reflects the scale of the plan and the potential speed of its execution, while the announced timeline remains tied to expansions that are not yet complete.
SemiAnalysis estimated that electrical capacity under Musk’s management exceeds 8 gigawatts, while data-center capacity being brought online exceeds 9 gigawatts. These figures put power supply and grid connections among the expansion’s requirements, alongside constructing buildings and equipping them with computing hardware. At one site near MiniHard, the company said a 500-kilovolt gas-insulated substation was under construction in October. It was scheduled for completion by December 31, 2026, with plans to connect it to the Freeport substation. SemiAnalysis also said the potential data-center project at the TeraFab site remained uncertain, and that it currently leaned toward the site being used for a data center.
SpaceX management expects nominal computing capacity to reach a range of 2.5–3 gigawatts by the end of the fourth quarter of 2026, ahead of the targeted expansion the following year. The company said fourth-quarter capital expenditure was expected to reach $35–40 billion, noting that this was tied to additional capacity coming online during the quarter. On financing, SpaceX said lease schedules tied to its agreement to finance GPU units were expected to begin when the GPU units and related equipment were delivered in the first half of 2027. It added that completion of the lease remained subject to certain conditions, and that closing was expected before the end of 2026. The timing of equipment going online and the resolution of financing terms are part of the timeline the company has announced it is targeting.
SpaceX’s computing infrastructure includes an agreement with Google Cloud, signed on June 5, 2026, to access computing capacity that includes about 110,000 Nvidia graphics processing units and related components, according to a company filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. This agreement adds to the capacity of company-operated facilities and to sites that SemiAnalysis said it was tracking as under construction. The 13-gigawatt estimate remains a target announced by Musk, while the other figures describe existing, under-construction or potential capacity according to their sources and dates. The nearer-term target set by management is to reach 2.5–3 gigawatts by the end of the fourth quarter of 2026, with capital expenditure expected to range from $35 billion to $40 billion during the quarter. After that, the company is targeting an addition of 10 gigawatts in 2027 and total capacity of 13 gigawatts by year-end.