A reported $40 billion financing proposal for Nvidia processor purchases sent SpaceX shares down 1.15% in Tuesday’s extended session, while Nvidia gained 0.5%. The potential borrowing comes as AI infrastructure accounts for most of SpaceX’s capital spending, far exceeding the cash generated by its operations.
Of the company’s $18.4 billion in second-quarter capital expenditure, AI infrastructure absorbed $15.8 billion, or approximately 86%. Starlink received about $1.4 billion, with another $1.2 billion allocated to the space business. Across the first half, capital spending reached roughly $28.5 billion; operating cash generation amounted to only about $3.5 billion.
Details of the proposed chip financing was first reported by the Financial Times on Tuesday. People with knowledge of the discussions told the newspaper that the package would combine approximately $30 billion of investment-grade borrowing with $10 billion of bank lending.
Apollo Global Management would take the leading role in arranging the transaction and distributing the debt across a wide investor base, according to the report. Pimco, the bond fund manager, was identified as one of a limited number of lenders discussing participation.
The planned purchases follow Elon Musk’s comments last month about expanding Nvidia hardware deployment. Musk said the number of Nvidia processors at xAI’s Colossus 2 data center could increase to more than twice its existing level by December. He also said the company intended to equip its data centers entirely with Nvidia hardware.
SpaceX’s stock, listed under SPCX, is trading near $172. That leaves it above the $135 IPO price, but below its peak of around $226. Musk brought the rocket and spacecraft business to the public market in June through a record-setting $86 billion initial public offering.
The financing discussions come amid substantial funding needs across AI development, as technology businesses compete for advanced chips and expand their computing capacity. Morgan Stanley puts the industry’s external infrastructure financing requirement at $1.5 trillion through 2028, despite increasing caution among creditors and investors.
