AI
SpaceX's $329 million Tesla Megapack haul signals massive power demands at xAI data centers
Elon Musk's rocket company has emerged as a major buyer of Tesla's industrial battery systems, likely to support infrastructure needs following its merger with the AI firm.
TechCrunch — AI
SpaceX has become a significant purchaser of Tesla's Megapack battery systems, shelling out $329 million for the devices through mid-2026, with $295 million of that spending occurring in the second quarter alone. The figure comes from the company's latest earnings report.
The acquisitions underscore how deeply intertwined Elon Musk's various enterprises have become. As CEO and largest shareholder of SpaceX, Musk also leads Tesla and oversees xAI, the AI venture that merged into SpaceX earlier this year.
Powering Data Centers Through Battery Storage#
The scale of SpaceX's Megapack purchases points to industrial-grade power infrastructure being deployed at xAI data centers. Before its integration with SpaceX, xAI independently spent $430 million on Megapacks to support its AI computing operations. That spending dropped sharply in the first quarter of 2026, when xAI purchased only $34 million worth of equipment—a shift that coincides with the two companies' merger.
Beyond batteries, SpaceX reported acquiring $131 million worth of Tesla Cybertrucks at standard manufacturer pricing as of December 2025.
Why Data Centers Need Battery Systems#
Despite xAI's reliance on dozens of natural gas turbines—some operating without proper permits at its Mississippi facility—large-scale battery storage remains essential for modern AI infrastructure.
Megapacks serve two critical functions:
- Backup power: The systems can deliver energy within seconds during outages or grid fluctuations.
- Peak demand smoothing: AI data centers experience volatile power consumption patterns rather than steady draw. Training models and running inference create unpredictable spikes in electricity demand, which batteries help absorb and regulate.
These power surges can trigger expensive demand charges from utility providers or stress on-site generators. By deploying battery capacity to flatten these peaks, data centers reduce operational costs while ensuring consistent performance for GPU-intensive workloads.
