SpaceX's AI Spending Reached $16.4 Billion in the Third Quarter

In its second earnings report, SpaceX announced that its capital expenditures in the artificial intelligence sector reached $16.4 billion, with total capital expenditures at $19.6 billion. CFO Bret Johnsen projected that this figure could rise to $35 to $40 billion in the current quarter as new computing capacities come online.

According to data released by SpaceX, $16.4 billion of the total $19.6 billion in capital expenditures went toward artificial intelligence-focused investments. Wall Street analysts had expected an expenditure of $16.9 billion in this category. CFO Bret Johnsen stated that expenditures would climb to the $35-40 billion level due to new infrastructure coming online in the current quarter. Johnsen noted that new computing investments yield returns in less than a year.

The company's AI revenues increased significantly compared to the previous quarter, reaching $7.6 billion, exceeding analyst estimates of $6.3 billion. With this revenue level, SpaceX's AI segment surpassed Starlink, which generated $5.2 billion in revenue. The AI unit was named SpaceXSI, in alignment with Elon Musk's use of the term "super intelligence" embraced by Donald Trump.

CEO Elon Musk stated that chip supply is no longer the biggest constraint, and that the real challenge lies in power, cooling, and infrastructure. While generating additional revenue from computing rentals to companies such as Anthropic, Google, and Reflection AI, Musk noted that the goal is to allocate approximately 50% of capacity for internal use and 50% for rentals. Following the earnings announcement, the company's shares gained 4% in after-hours trading.