SpaceX Plans $24 Billion Supercomputer Hub at Starbase With Its Own Gas Plant

What happened

The city notice states that SpaceX proposes to construct, own and operate a gas-fired power plant and a super-compute facility. CoinDesk reported the plan on Nov 9. The project is still a proposal: not approved, not under construction.

The plant would reportedly run on 35 gas turbines and produce 748 megawatts, a figure from the environmental filing rather than the notice itself. SpaceX has also applied for a property tax abatement, and the city commission will hold a public hearing on Dec 9 to consider it.

The backdrop is Texas's Aug 3 pause on new data-center grid connections pending a regulatory audit, which covers on-site power generation and its effects on local water and communities. SpaceX merged xAI into the company in February at a combined valuation of about $1.25 trillion and has since moved faster on AI compute.

Key facts

1. Proposal: Build, own and operate a gas-fired power plant and a supercomputing facility at Starbase, Texas
2. Initial investment: About $24 billion
3. Power scale: Reportedly 35 gas turbines and 748 megawatts, a figure from the environmental filing
4. Tax break: The company has applied for a property tax abatement; the city commission holds a public hearing on Dec 9
5. Status: Still a proposal: not approved, not under construction
6. Regulatory backdrop: Texas paused new data-center grid connections on Aug 3 pending a regulatory audit
7. Company backdrop: SpaceX merged xAI into the company in February at a combined valuation of about $1.25 trillion
8. Industry parallel: Anthropic recently took over 1.7 gigawatts of gas generators for about $3.4 billion, also securing its own power