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Musk Sets xAI Ground Compute Target at 10GW by December 2027

Elon Musk said SpaceX's xAI operation is targeting 10GW of terrestrial AI compute capacity by December 2027, up from a reported 1.4GW at its Memphis and Southaven data centers, implying roughly sevenfold growth. Musk estimated that 10GW online could support $300 billion-$500 billion in annual revenue at $30-$50 per watt, though he did not disclose contracted revenue.

read3 min views1 publishedAug 15, 2026
Musk Sets xAI Ground Compute Target at 10GW by December 2027
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  • xAI is targeting 10GW of terrestrial AI compute capacity by the end of 2027, Musk said at a SpaceX employee meeting. [1] - The company’s Memphis and Southaven facilities were reported at 1.4GW of combined nameplate power draw, implying roughly sevenfold expansion. [1] - Musk estimated that 10GW online could support $300 billion-$500 billion in annual revenue at $30-$50 per watt; the figure is an estimate, not disclosed contracted revenue. [1] - SpaceX’s 2026 prospectus listed Colossus and Colossus II at approximately 1.0GW of combined compute power, with another 400MW planned at Colossus II.

[2] Elon Musk said SpaceX’s xAI operation is targeting 10GW of terrestrial AI compute capacity by December 2027, expanding from a reported 1.4GW of nameplate power draw at data centers in Memphis, Tennessee, and Southaven, Mississippi. Musk made the statement during a meeting with SpaceX employees, according to Tom’s Hardware. [1]

“We are aiming to get to 10 GW [of compute] by the end of next year,” Musk said. The target implies roughly sevenfold growth from the 1.4GW figure reported for the current footprint. [1]

The target is a power and infrastructure measure, not a direct measure of accelerator performance. Nameplate draw includes cooling, power distribution, networking, storage and other facility loads in addition to GPUs. [1]

The Target #

Musk said xAI could generate $300 billion-$500 billion in annual revenue if it brings 10GW of AI compute online and achieves a value of $30-$50 per watt. The estimate was attributed to Musk and was not presented as a contracted-revenue forecast. [1] SpaceX completed its acquisition of xAI on February 2, 2026, according to SpaceX and Tesla regulatory disclosures. [3][4]

Existing Footprint #

Tom’s Hardware reported that SpaceX’s xAI data centers in Memphis and Southaven had a combined rated power draw of 1.4GW. SpaceX’s own prospectus uses a different metric, stating that Colossus and Colossus II together provided approximately 1.0GW of compute power, with additional power capacity available for operations. [1][2]

The prospectus also said the next phase of Colossus II would add 400MW of compute capacity once fully operational. xAI’s Memphis facility separately says it planned to equip Colossus with 1 million GPUs by 2026. [2][5]

Terrestrial and Orbital Roadmaps #

The 10GW target concerns terrestrial AI infrastructure. Separately, SpaceX’s prospectus says it expects to begin deploying orbital AI compute satellites as early as 2028. [2]

Reuters reported in June that SpaceX executives were targeting initial demonstrations of space-based AI-computing infrastructure by late 2027, ahead of broader deployment. [6] Those orbital demonstrations are a separate program from the terrestrial capacity target described by Musk.

[[2]](https://content.spacex.com/cms-assets/FINAL_Documents%20and%20Updates/SpaceX%20-%20EU%20Prospectus%20%28Approved%20by%20Bafin%29%20-%20June%205%2C%202026.pdf)

[[6]](https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/spacex-aims-to-launch-orbital-ai-computing-tests-by-end-of-next-year-sources-say-4734156)## Companies mentioned

Further sources #

[1] Tom’s Hardware, “Elon Musk says xAI will increase data center capacity 7x by 20… ↗

[2] SpaceX, 2026 prospectus, describing Colossus and Colossus II compute capacity, … ↗

[3] SpaceX, Canadian prospectus disclosure stating that the xAI Merger was consumma… ↗

[4] Tesla SEC filing stating that xAI Holdings was acquired by and became a wholly … ↗

[5] xAI’s Memphis facility page, describing Colossus and the planned deployment of … ↗ [6] Reuters, “SpaceX aims to launch orbital AI computing tests by end of next year,… ↗

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