SpaceX Commits $2.8 Billion to Buy Gas Turbines for xAI Data Centers in Memphis and Southaven

SpaceX said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday that it is committing to spend over $2.8 billion in recent months to buy gas turbines to power data centers for its artificial intelligence unit, xAI.

“Nvidia announced another record-breaking financial quarter on Wednesday, reporting $81”

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The filing ties the move to a broader data-center boom constrained by electricity supply, and it names xAI’s data centers as Colossus 1 in Memphis, Tennessee, and Colossus 2 in Southaven, Mississippi.

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WIRED reported that portable turbines—generators that can run without drawing power from the grid—have been viewed as quick and temporary solutions, and it said some turbines were added to Colossus 2 for a total of 46 units.

The same WIRED account linked the turbine buildout to public complaints, a lawsuit, and regulatory inquiries over whether SpaceX may be polluting the air with carbon emissions and dodging environmental requirements.

The filing also said SpaceX has more than $14 billion in construction in progress, including the value of data center equipment that’s not yet operational.

xAI, founded by Elon Musk, has been sued over its use of polluting generators at a data center near Memphis, Tennessee, and the dispute centers on whether the turbines are properly permitted.

TechCrunch said the NAACP filed a lawsuit last month seeking an injunction against xAI’s use of the turbines, and it reported that xAI has been granted permits for 15 turbines.

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TechCrunch also reported that as of a few weeks ago, xAI was using 46 turbines, and it said each type of turbine has the potential to emit more than 2,000 tons of NOx pollution annually.

The company argues it can operate the turbines for up to a year without permits because they are “mobile”—meaning they are still on the trailer they were shipped on—while Mississippi and federal interpretations diverge.

SpaceX’s IPO filing acknowledged the risk, writing, “Court injunctions or the revocation of permits could have a negative impact on our AI business.”

Nvidia reported record results on Wednesday, saying it had $81.6 billion in revenue for the three months ending April 26, a 20% increase from the previous quarter.

The company said data center revenue alone reached $75.2 billion, also a record, and it forecast $91 billion in revenue for the next quarter, representing 12% growth.

In its earnings materials, CFO Colette Kress said, “Our Blackwell architecture is everywhere,” and the filing described Blackwell adoption by every major hyperscaler, cloud provider, and large-scale AI model developer.

Nvidia also disclosed a sharp rise in startup holdings, with the value of non-marketable equity securities nearly doubling from $22 billion at the start of the quarter to $43 billion by April 26.

The filing said Nvidia purchased $18.5 billion in stakes during the quarter, and it also noted that in February Nvidia committed to investing $30 billion in OpenAI, while CEO Jensen Huang said its coverage for Anthropic had been “largely zero until this.”