SpaceX plans more than $74B in AI data centers in Texas and Arizona
SpaceX (SPCX) said on Thursday that it plans to invest more than $74B in two AI supercomputing campuses in Texas and Arizona.
The company expects to spend more than $24B at its Starbase site in South Texas. About $50B goes to Cochise County, a rural part of Arizona east of Tucson.
SpaceX presented the plan as good for the towns around the sites. The company said in its release: "These investments will expand local tax bases, generate substantial new revenue for schools and public services."
The Starbase campus would make its own power instead of drawing from the state grid. A city notice shows a gas-fired power plant and a supercomputing facility on about 444 acres. SpaceX also plans to spend $220M on Brownsville's water supply. The Starbase City Commission is due to consider a property tax break for the project on December 9.
The Arizona site still needs approval from Cochise County. It covers about 750 acres and would use up to 6 gigawatts of power once fully built. SpaceX says the site would use dry cooling, with no planned industrial use of groundwater.
The project faces local pushback. A petition with 2,400 signatures asks officials to reject the permit, and the county holds a public hearing in December.
SpaceX expects the Arizona campus to bring 5,500 construction jobs and 1,000 permanent ones. In Texas, it expects more than 500 permanent jobs.
Data centers became a campaign issue in Texas this year. Governor Greg Abbott paused new data center construction pending a statewide review, and Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa also ran on limiting them.
The new campuses add to a buildout that is already large. SpaceX's AI business, which it calls Super Intelligence, brought in $7.6B in Q3, more than half of the company's revenue. It spent $16.4B on capital projects in the quarter, and its computing capacity reached 1.7 gigawatts by September 30, SpaceX's Q3 results show.
Sources & Further Reading
- "Building the Future." SpaceX. November 12, 2026.
- "SpaceX plans over $74 billion investment in Texas, Arizona AI campuses." Reuters. November 12, 2026.
- "SpaceX is behind proposed data center in Cochise County." KJZZ. November 10, 2026.
- "SpaceX to invest $74B into data center construction projects in Texas, Arizona." The Hill. November 12, 2026.
- "SpaceX Q3 2026 Earnings Release." SpaceX. October 20, 2026.
This article was drafted with the help of AI. Kris Gunnars fact-checked, edited and published the article and is responsible for its accuracy and quality. How we use AI
