SpaceX Spent $295 Million on Additional Tesla Megapack Purchases in Q2
N.R. Finch
SpaceX bought $295 million worth of Tesla Megapacks in Q2 to power its AI data centers, bringing first-half spending to $329 million — a pace that puts Musk's inter-company deals under growing market scrutiny.
How much was spent, and on what?
SpaceX purchased $295 million in Tesla Megapacks — large-scale battery storage systems that store grid or generator power and guard against outages.
Combined with Q1, first-half 2026 procurement reached $329 million. This means → half a year's spend already equals roughly 65% of 2025's full-year total of $506 million.
Every unit is destined for SpaceXAI's Colossus data-center cluster in the greater Memphis area.
What is all that battery capacity for?
On the earnings call, Musk said the target is 20 gigawatts of power and cooling online by end of 2027.
He conceded some projects "won't land exactly on time" and estimated the actual generation side would come in closer to 15 GW.
In plain terms = 20 GW is roughly the output of a dozen large nuclear reactors. Even discounted to 15 GW, the scale is extraordinary.
What trouble have the gas turbines caused?
Beyond batteries, the Colossus campus runs dozens of natural-gas turbines for on-site generation.
Local residents have filed complaints about odor, noise, air pollution, and health concerns — community backlash has been intense.
The NAACP has sued SpaceXAI in federal court in Mississippi, seeking to halt turbine operations conducted without pollution-control equipment or a federal permit.
Does Tesla face competition in energy storage?
According to Wood Mackenzie, major rivals include China's Sungrow, BYD, and CATL, South Korea's LG, and US-based Fluence.
Yet SpaceX keeps placing large orders exclusively with Tesla. This reflects a widening pattern of related-party transactions between two Musk-controlled companies.
This means → the market's focus is not just on storage technology — it is on whether this "left-hand-buys-from-right-hand" dynamic will accelerate further as AI capacity expands.
What else was bought last year, and what changed?
In full-year 2025, SpaceX bought $506 million in Tesla Megapacks and spent an additional $131 million on Tesla Cybertrucks.
The 2026 first-half filing disclosed no new Cybertruck purchases.
In plain terms = the money is shifting from vehicles to batteries — AI infrastructure's power demands have clearly overtaken other spending priorities.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.