Elon Musk says SpaceX will build its own gas turbine parts to meet surging AI power demand
Elon Musk said building parts in-house would allow SpaceX to accelerate natural gas turbines coming online by up to 18 months.
Fabrice Coffrini / AFP via Getty Images SpaceX will build its own gas turbine parts as it battles the AI boom's growing energy demands.
Elon Musk said the move was necessary to power SpaceX's ambitious AI infrastructure plans.
Tech giants are turning to natural gas plants to power data centers amid growing strain on the grid.
SpaceX is building a gas turbine blade factory as it grapples with a global scramble to secure energy supplies for AI data centers.
Elon Musk said on Saturday that the rocket company will manufacture its own gas turbine parts, adding that solar power alone would not be enough to power its massive AI infrastructure buildout.
In a post on X, Musk wrote that SpaceX and Tesla were both racing to build their own massive solar panel factories "as fast as possible" — but added that this would not be enough to meet surging demand for electricity.
"Natural gas will still be needed to supplement and bootstrap solar for several years," Musk said, adding that SpaceX would seek to build its own gas turbine blades and vanes — which are notoriously difficult to manufacture — to speed up production.
"By doing in-house casting at SpaceX, we can accelerate natural gas turbines coming online by up to 18 months, which is a profound game-changer," the billionaire said.
The Information first reported on SpaceX's plans.
SpaceX has also begun advertising roles for a "blades and vanes foundry" in Bastrop, Texas, where the rocket company manufactures its Starlink terminals.
"Power generation poses one of the key challenges that could slow the worldwide adoption of AI," read one of the job descriptions.
The AI boom has led to a massive buildout of data centers across the US, which in turn has put electricity supplies under strain and sparked a nationwide public backlash.
Some AI companies have attempted to address their data center's hunger for power by building natural gas power plants.
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