SpaceX is moving deeper into power generation by building a factory to manufacture gas turbine blades and vanes, as the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure intensifies competition for electricity and exposes bottlenecks in the equipment needed to generate it.
Elon Musk, SpaceX’s CEO, said on Saturday that the rocket company plans to produce its own turbine components, arguing that solar power alone will not be sufficient to support the company’s rapidly expanding AI infrastructure.
SpaceX and Tesla are already racing to build large solar panel factories, Musk said in a post on X, but he expects natural gas to remain necessary to supplement solar generation for several years.
Register for the next Tekedia Mini-MBA.
Register for Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and co-invest in great global startups.
“Natural gas will still be needed to supplement and bootstrap solar for several years,” Musk said.
He added that SpaceX would manufacture its own gas turbine blades and vanes, components that are technically difficult and time-consuming to produce.
“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,” Musk said.
The Information first reported SpaceX’s plans. The company has also begun advertising positions for a “blades and vanes foundry” at its facility in Bastrop, Texas, where it manufactures Starlink terminals.
One SpaceX job description described electricity generation as a major constraint on the expansion of AI, saying: “Power generation poses one of the key challenges that could slow the worldwide adoption of AI.”
The move shows that the AI boom is increasingly forcing technology companies to address infrastructure problems far beyond chips and data centers. Electricity generation, transmission capacity, transformers, cooling systems, and power-generation equipment are becoming critical parts of the AI supply chain.
The rapid construction of data centers across the United States has placed additional pressure on electricity networks, with technology companies competing for access to power as they seek to deploy powerful AI systems.
Natural gas has emerged as one of the more immediate solutions because gas-fired turbines can provide continuous electricity and can be deployed alongside intermittent renewable sources. But demand for turbines has also surged, creating another bottleneck.
OpenAI, Amazon and Microsoft have entered partnerships involving natural gas power generation for data centers, while Meta’s Hyperion data center in northern Louisiana is expected to require 10 new gas power plants.
The competition for turbines has become so intense that some aerospace companies are exploring the conversion of jet engines into power-generating turbines for data-center applications.
SpaceX has already turned to mobile gas turbines to supply electricity to its Colossus data centers in Mississippi and Tennessee. Those facilities have generated local complaints over noise and pollution, adding environmental and community opposition to the logistical challenges associated with rapid AI infrastructure expansion.
For SpaceX, producing turbine components internally could reduce its dependence on equipment suppliers and potentially shorten the time required to bring additional generation capacity online. The strategy also fits with Musk’s broader approach of vertically integrating critical components when external supply cannot keep pace with the company’s expansion plans.
The scale of SpaceX’s AI ambitions makes access to power particularly important. The company is investing heavily in AI infrastructure as it develops increasingly capable models and computing systems. SpaceX spent about $16 billion on AI infrastructure in the second quarter of 2026, according to the report, with executives telling investors that spending would remain at “very similar” levels over the following two quarters.
That spending matters because the economics of AI depend not only on access to advanced processors but also on the ability to secure enough electricity to operate them. As computing clusters grow, power requirements can reach levels comparable to those of major industrial facilities.
Therefore, industry analysts see SpaceX’s decision to manufacture turbine blades as an indication of more than an expansion into an adjacent industrial business. It is believed to be a signal that AI companies are increasingly being pushed upstream into energy infrastructure as electricity becomes a strategic constraint on computing capacity.
The development also highlights a potential shift in the AI industry’s competition. Companies that can secure generation equipment and electricity faster are expected to deploy AI computing capacity ahead of rivals, while those unable to overcome power constraints could face delays even when chips and data-center sites are available.
This means bringing turbine manufacturing in-house could give SpaceX greater control over that critical bottleneck as it pursues an aggressive expansion of AI computing. The approach, however, also means taking on the complexity and capital requirements of manufacturing equipment far outside its traditional rocket and spacecraft operations.