- Chip Financing: Elon Musk says SpaceX closed $40 billion in debt for AI chips, citing revenue from satellite-internet service Starlink and rocket launches.
- Borrowing Costs: Semafor reported a proposed debt portion at a higher rate than existing SpaceX bonds; final pricing remains unclear.
- AI Capacity: The chips would expand computing hardware used for SpaceX’s own AI models and rented to outside customers.
SpaceX has closed $40 billion in debt financing to buy AI chips, CEO Elon Musk said on October 25, as the rocket and satellite-internet company finances a growing computing business. Musk attributed its access to credit to revenue outside AI, while earlier reporting placed one proposed interest rate above existing SpaceX bond rates.
Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen has described the company’s computing capacity as usable for training its own models and renting to customers through cloud-service agreements. Buying more processors would add hardware for those activities.
Musk linked the debt to GPU purchases arriving in the first and second quarters. CNBC reported that the chips are expected in the first half of 2027. He said the purchases would not be a major factor in spending in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Reuters reported that it remained unclear what Musk meant by “closed” or whether investors had agreed on pricing.
Pretty much.
As of the past few weeks, debt markets have almost entirely shut off access to money for any company that doesn’t have substantial revenue independent of AI data centers.
SpaceX closed $40B of debt for GPUs, but we’re investment grade and have Starlink & launch…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 25, 2026
Starlink Revenue and the Cost of Credit
Musk attributed SpaceX’s borrowing access to its investment-grade credit status, a classification denoting comparatively low risk of failing to repay debt. He also cited revenue from Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite-internet service, and rocket launches. He contrasted that business mix with companies dependent on AI data centers, which he said were finding debt markets largely closed to them.
On October 22, Semafor reported proposed rates of about 8.3% for the lowest-rated portion of the deal and around 7.75% for a safer portion backed by some SpaceX chips, citing people familiar with the financing.
The safer portion was being discussed at more than one percentage point above where existing SpaceX bonds traded. Semafor’s report also described weakness in SpaceX bonds and higher costs to insure against default amid concerns about AI infrastructure financing.
A Separate Financing Entity Was Proposed
Before Musk’s announcement, Bloomberg reported plans to use a special-purpose vehicle, a separate financing entity. Goldman Sachs was leading the talks with investors including Apollo. The plan aims to protect SpaceX’s credit rating by keeping the borrowing off its balance sheet, the financial statement of what it owns and owes.
Musk later called the arrangement “primarily callable debt.” He did not specify the contractual rights attached to that description, including when funds could be drawn or whether debt could be repaid early.
This is primarily callable debt for GPU purchases that will arrive in Q1 and Q2. Not a major factor this quarter.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 25, 2026
AI Computing Has Paying Customers
SpaceX’s AI business generated $7.56 billion in revenue in the three months ended September 30, up from $813 million a year earlier.
SpaceX’s Connectivity segment, which includes Starlink, posted $2.37 billion in operating income on $5.25 billion in revenue that quarter. The space segment recorded a $7 million operating loss, while AI posted $431 million in operating income.
Google’s June 5, 2026 computing agreement with SpaceX provided for payments of $920 million a month for access associated with roughly 110,000 Nvidia GPUs and supporting hardware from October 2026 through June 2029. Google sought that rented capacity as a bridge for demand from Gemini Enterprise, its business AI platform, while expanding its own infrastructure.
The agreement tied payment to delivery: SpaceX had a September 30 deadline to provide the committed GPU access. If it missed the threshold, Google could terminate after a one-month grace period or accept reduced capacity at a proportionately lower fee. After December 31, either side could end the arrangement on 90 days’ notice. Whether SpaceX delivered the full capacity and collected the scheduled fees by October 26 is unclear.
The final borrowing entity, repayment schedule and guarantees for the $40 billion package remain unclear.
