SpaceX to Manufacture Gas Turbine Parts In-House for AI Data Centers

SpaceX is establishing its own gas turbine blade manufacturing facility as the rocket company confronts growing power demands from its artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Elon Musk announced Saturday that SpaceX will produce gas turbine blades and vanes internally, components known for their manufacturing complexity. The move aims to address bottlenecks in securing energy supplies for the company's expanding AI data center operations.

While SpaceX and Tesla are both building large-scale solar panel factories, Musk said solar power alone cannot meet the immediate electricity requirements. "Natural gas will still be needed to supplement and bootstrap solar for several years," he wrote on X.

Cutting 18 months from deployment timelines

By manufacturing turbine components in-house at SpaceX facilities, the company expects to accelerate the deployment of natural gas turbines by up to 18 months. "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 stated.

SpaceX has begun advertising positions for a "blades and vanes foundry" in Bastrop, Texas, where the company already produces Starlink terminals. Job descriptions note that "power generation poses one of the key challenges that could slow the worldwide adoption of AI."

The company currently operates mobile gas turbines at its Colossus data centers in Mississippi and Tennessee, installations that have drawn local complaints about noise and pollution.

Why it matters

The global shortage of gas turbines has become a critical constraint on AI infrastructure expansion. SpaceX's vertical integration strategy—manufacturing its own power generation components—signals how seriously tech companies view energy bottlenecks as threats to AI development timelines. If successful, this approach could provide a competitive advantage in the race to build larger AI training clusters, though it also represents a significant capital commitment beyond SpaceX's core aerospace business.

Broader industry power crunch

SpaceX joins other major technology companies scrambling to secure electricity for AI operations. OpenAI, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta have all established partnerships or projects involving natural gas power generation. Meta's Hyperion data center in northern Louisiana alone will require 10 new gas power plants.

The turbine shortage has grown severe enough that some aerospace startups are repurposing jet engines into turbines specifically for data center applications.

SpaceX invested $16 billion in AI infrastructure during the second quarter of 2026, with company executives indicating similar spending levels for at least the next two quarters.

The Information first reported details of SpaceX's turbine manufacturing plans.