🔍 Read the full analysis: SpaceX’s Texas And Arizona AI Campuses: Investment, Resources And Jobs on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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TL;DR
SpaceX says it is pursuing two AI computing projects: a more than $24 billion campus near Starbase, Texas, and a roughly $50 billion campus in Cochise County, Arizona. Both face local proceedings scheduled for Dec. 9, 2026, while key details—including Texas facility capacity and the Arizona power arrangement—remain unresolved.
SpaceX said November 12 it is advancing plans for AI computing campuses near Starbase, Texas, and in Cochise County, Arizona, describing them as more than $74 billion in planned investment. The projects would pair extensive computing capacity with different power and cooling approaches, and both face local proceedings scheduled for December 9, 2026.
In Texas, SpaceX says it plans to invest more than $24 billion in a facility on an approximately 444-acre site between Boca Chica Boulevard and the Port of Brownsville. A Starbase city notice describes the initial capital investment as approximately $24 billion and identifies a gas-fired power plant alongside the computing facility. SpaceX says the site will generate its own electricity rather than draw from the public grid, but the city notice does not specify the plant’s capacity.
SpaceX says the Texas project has produced more than 3,000 construction jobs so far and is expected to provide more than 500 permanent jobs when operating. It also says it has committed $220 million to water and wastewater infrastructure for Brownsville and Cameron County, including $40 million already provided, and that the work would add about 20 million gallons per day from sources independent of the Rio Grande. The company has not disclosed how much water the computing facility itself would use.
In Arizona, SpaceX describes a roughly $50 billion campus on about 747 acres near Cochise. The county application was filed by Tombstone Resources L.L.C.; the documents reviewed do not name SpaceX, although the company’s project page and Tombstone’s town-hall statement connect SpaceX to the proposal. Plans allow for up to nine computing buildings, each about 493,000 square feet, built in four phases. The application estimates full-build power demand of about 6 gigawatts and a 24-gigawatt-hour battery system. It projects about 5,500 construction workers at peak, roughly 250 staff when initial buildings open and about 1,000 at full build-out.
Two campuses, two power models investment, resources and jobs
SpaceX is proposing large AI computing campuses in Texas and Arizona. Local proceedings are scheduled for December 9, 2026, while key project details remain unresolved.
Two Campuses, Two Power Models
The plans show the scale of infrastructure SpaceX is proposing as it expands its AI computing work beyond the company’s earlier emphasis on orbital data centers. The Texas site is described as generating its own electricity with a gas-fired plant; Arizona would rely on electricity delivered through the Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative and the Arizona Electric Power Cooperative to a utility-owned substation. That difference has consequences for local grid planning, permitting and community scrutiny.
SpaceX says the Arizona campus would use dry cooling, without cooling towers or industrial groundwater use. Its application estimates water use of 7 to 10 acre-feet a year at full build-out, mostly for staff. The document compares that with 400 to 600 acre-feet annually for a center-pivot field on a 160-acre quarter section. Those figures are application estimates, not evidence of the facility’s eventual operating use.
The projected investment and employment figures also matter to communities weighing land-use decisions and potential public benefits against infrastructure demands. SpaceX’s stated job counts and investment plans describe its expectations; they do not establish how many positions will be filled, when the campuses will be completed or what local economic effects will follow.
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From Orbital AI to Ground Sites
When SpaceX announced its acquisition of xAI on February 2, the company argued that terrestrial electricity demand for AI could not be met in the near term without hardship for communities and the environment, and presented orbital data centers as an answer. Its November plans now include two large facilities on Earth. SpaceX says the Texas site will also help it develop and test technologies for future space-based computing, framing the ground project as part of that broader effort.
The announcement follows a period in which AI has become a major part of SpaceX’s business. Reuters reported that the company’s AI segment generated more than half of its revenue in the third quarter. That reported revenue share helps explain the commercial stakes, but it does not establish how much revenue either proposed campus would generate.
The plans are documented through different sources. SpaceX issued the investment and project statements; Starbase published a notice concerning the Texas site; and Cochise County’s application identifies Tombstone Resources as the Arizona applicant. Local reporting by The 956 Report, citing an air registration filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, has reported details about proposed Texas turbines that are not included in the city notice.
““Together, they represent more than $74 billion in planned American investment.””
— SpaceX
Capacity, Rates and Permits Remain Open
Several material details have not been established in the available documents. For Texas, the city notice does not specify the computing facility’s capacity, the gas plant’s capacity or the facility’s own water demand. The size and terms of any proposed property tax abatement are also not stated in the source material. The 956 Report said a Texas air registration describes a temporary setup of 35 natural gas turbines totaling about 748 megawatts, later to be replaced by eight turbines totaling about 708 megawatts. Those details are attributed to that outlet’s reporting and should not be confused with figures in the city notice.
In Arizona, the county application estimates power demand and water use, but those are proposed figures rather than operating measurements. SpaceX has promised lower power bills for members of the local cooperative; it remains unclear whether the arrangement behind that promise will receive approval from the relevant utility regulator. The final project design, construction schedule, local approvals and terms of electricity service have not been established.
Neither the announced investment totals nor the employment projections show how much money has already been spent on each campus or guarantee the eventual number of jobs. The projects remain subject to local review, and the materials provided do not confirm that all required permits have been granted.
December Hearings Set for Both Sites
On December 9, 2026, the Cochise County Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to hold a hearing on the Arizona proposal. On the same day, the Starbase City Commission is scheduled to consider a property tax abatement for the Texas project. These proceedings offer the next public milestones identified in the available material; their outcomes are not yet known.
Readers should watch for commission decisions, further application documents and details from utilities or regulators. Those could clarify project conditions, electricity arrangements, local tax terms and water plans. SpaceX has not provided a confirmed full construction timeline or operating dates for either campus in the source material.
Key Questions
What has SpaceX announced?
SpaceX says it is advancing two AI computing projects: a campus near Starbase, Texas, with more than $24 billion in planned investment, and a roughly $50 billion campus in Cochise County, Arizona.
How would the two campuses get electricity?
SpaceX says the Texas site would generate its own electricity using a gas-fired power plant. The Arizona proposal would receive power through local cooperatives and a utility-owned substation, with standby generators for outages and testing.
How many jobs are projected?
SpaceX says the Texas project has generated more than 3,000 construction jobs so far and expects more than 500 permanent jobs. The Arizona application projects about 5,500 construction workers at peak and roughly 1,000 staff at full build-out.
When are the next local proceedings?
The Cochise County Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to hear the Arizona application on December 9, 2026. The Starbase City Commission is scheduled to consider a property tax abatement for the Texas project that day.
What details remain unresolved?
Unresolved points include the Texas computing facility’s capacity and water use, the size of any Texas tax abatement and whether Arizona’s electricity arrangement will be approved. Construction and operating timelines are also not confirmed.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
