Pomegra
SpaceX (SPCX) closed a record $40 billion GPU financing for Nvidia chips while its board and Tesla's weigh a merger, reshaping the AI stocks landscape.
- SpaceX secured a $40 billion master finance lease for Nvidia Vera Rubin GPUs, led by Apollo and Goldman Sachs.
- Independent directors at SpaceX and Tesla formed special committees to study a merger; no terms have been agreed.
- Tesla rose 5.2% to $391.62 on Monday, while SpaceX slipped 0.4% to $146.90.
Lead
SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) announced on Monday, October 26, 2026, a $40 billion master finance lease to fund Nvidia (NVDA) GPUs, which it called the largest committed GPU financing on record. Six days earlier, on its third-quarter earnings call, the company disclosed that special committees at SpaceX and Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) were examining a possible combination. Together, the two moves tie the financing of AI infrastructure to the future shape of Elon Musk's corporate empire and give AI stocks a new reference point.What Did SpaceX Announce?
SpaceX secured $40 billion in lease financing to acquire Nvidia's next-generation Vera Rubin chips and related equipment. Apollo (APO) leads the group, with Goldman Sachs (GS) as sole structuring agent. BlackRock (BLK), Goldman Sachs Asset Management and KKR (KKR) also provided commitments.
Under the structure, Apollo buys the hardware and leases it to SpaceX. Delivery is expected in the first half of 2027, when lease payments begin. Closing of the full facility is expected before year-end. The compute will support Grok applications for consumers and enterprises and the company's cloud services.
Why Is SpaceX Borrowing So Heavily for Chips?
SpaceX is spending far faster than it generates cash. Capital expenditure reached $48.1 billion over the first nine months of 2026, against operating cash flow of $13.1 billion. Management guided fourth-quarter capex to $35 billion to $40 billion, after an initial public offering that raised $85.7 billion in net proceeds.
The spending is supported by growth. Third-quarter revenue rose 161% to $14.6 billion. The AI segment contributed $7.6 billion, up 830%, and now exceeds Starlink's $5.2 billion. Net income was $4.4 billion.
Musk used the announcement to warn rivals. He said so-called neoclouds, which rent out GPU capacity, face "guppy-level death and consolidation," adding that debt markets have largely closed to companies without substantial revenue beyond AI data centers. CoreWeave (CRWV) fell more than 30% over the past month on bond-yield concerns before recovering Monday.
Are Tesla and SpaceX Going to Merge?
Not yet: the boards have only formed special committees, and neither has agreed terms. Musk said on the October 20 call that the committees comprise independent directors and that he is excluded because he is a conflicted party.
The approval math differs by company. A Tesla deal would need support from 50% of all outstanding shares, not just those voting, a threshold Musk called high. At SpaceX, Musk holds more than half the voting power, making approval simpler.
How Did Markets React?
Tesla shares closed at $391.62 on Monday, up $19.40, or 5.2%, lifting its market value to about $1.55 trillion. SpaceX closed at $146.90, down $0.59, or 0.4%, for a market value near $1.995 trillion. The divergence shows investors rewarding Tesla for a potential link to SpaceX's AI compute, while SpaceX absorbs the cost of its debt-funded buildout.
Outlook
The next milestones are the facility's formal closing before year-end, the committees' progress, and the first Vera Rubin deliveries in 2027. SpaceX's reliance on lease financing signals how large AI infrastructure has become relative to conventional funding sources. Any merger terms would also test how far Tesla's shareholder-approval threshold constrains a deal.
