SpaceX Plans 10-Gigawatt Solar Factory Near Austin to Power AI Data Centers

TLDR

• SpaceX has filed permits for a 10-gigawatt solar manufacturing facility in Bastrop, Texas, near Austin.
• The two-floor factory would produce five gigawatts of solar cells per floor.
• The plant is linked to Elon Musk’s plan to power AI data centers, including space-based ones.
• SpaceX already employs over 1,000 people at its existing Bastrop facility, which makes Starlink products.
• SpaceX has filed an S-1 for an IPO targeting a Nasdaq debut as early as mid-June 2026 under the ticker SPCX, with a potential valuation over $1 trillion.

SpaceX is planning to build one of the largest solar manufacturing facilities in the United States. Permit filings submitted to Bastrop County in Texas, obtained by Bloomberg News, show the company wants to construct a 10-gigawatt solar factory near Austin.

The facility would be located in Bastrop, where SpaceX already runs a large Starlink production hub employing more than 1,000 people. The new plant would effectively double the size of the company’s existing footprint there.

The factory is designed with two floors. Each floor would produce five gigawatts worth of solar cells, according to the permit documents.

What the Solar Factory Is For

The solar cells would be used to power next-generation Starlink satellites and support Elon Musk’s broader vision of AI data centers in space. These orbital data centers would use constant solar energy to avoid the power constraints that affect ground-based AI infrastructure.

Musk spoke about this vision at the World Economic Forum in January. He described solar power as a way to address the energy bottleneck that is slowing AI development.

At that event, he announced a goal for both SpaceX and Tesla to each build 100 gigawatts per year of solar manufacturing capacity in the United States within the next three years. That level of production would far exceed current domestic output.

The Austin Business Journal had earlier reported signs of a large construction project at the site, estimating the facility could exceed one million square feet.

SpaceX IPO and Valuation

SpaceX filed its S-1 prospectus earlier this week, laying out plans for a public listing on the Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX. The company is targeting a debut as early as mid-June 2026.

Analysts have estimated the company’s valuation could exceed $1 trillion, which would make it one of the largest IPOs in stock market history.

The IPO filing also detailed plans to expand the Bastrop campus, produce new Starlink products, and scale up solar cell manufacturing alongside the new factory.

Construction at the Bastrop site is already underway.

The capital raised from the public listing is expected to fund Starship development, Starlink expansion, and the buildout of the company’s space-based AI infrastructure.

SpaceX has not publicly commented on the permit filings or confirmed the full scope of the project beyond what appears in the documents and the S-1 filing.

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