W.052SpaceX is seeking a tax break for a gas plant and supercomputer at Starbase. Its first phases, about $24B, are 1.2 times its largest quarter of capital spending yet, the third
The City of Starbase will hold a hearing on December 9 on a property tax abatement and an economic development agreement for SpaceX’s proposed gas-fired power plant and super-compute facility on about 444 acres east of Brownsville. The notice puts the investment at about $24B for initial phases, 1.2 times the $19.6B SpaceX spent on property and equipment in the third quarter. SpaceX guided to $35–40B of capital spending in the fourth.
The notice
SpaceX proposes to build, own and operate a gas plant and a supercomputer at Starbase. The city’s notice, posted on November 6 according to The 956 Report, says the commission will consider a property tax abatement under Chapter 312 of the Texas Tax Code and a related economic development agreement under Chapter 380 at its December 9 meeting. The site is about 444 acres between Boca Chica Boulevard and the Port of Brownsville, inside the Cameron County Enterprise Zone. The notice puts the investment at about $24B for initial phases and says the project may be built in phases and expanded later.
The notice gives no terms. It states no abatement percentage or length, no megawatts, no chip count and no jobs figure, and the commission has not voted. The Information reported on November 7 that public records appear to show SpaceX building a supercomputer at Starbase. The 956 Report cited a pending state air filing for gas turbines on the site; we have not seen that filing, and its turbine counts and megawatts are not in the notice, so we leave them out of the charts.
The land moved into Starbase’s jurisdiction in the last three months. Brownsville voted on August 29 to release about 445 acres from its jurisdiction, and SpaceX agreed to fund up to $220M of water projects, the Texas Tribune reported. The tract is now inside Starbase, the city SpaceX’s launch site became in 2025.
The first phases are 1.2 times SpaceX’s largest quarter of capital spending yet
$ billions. SpaceX purchases of property and equipment by quarter in 2026, from its results; the first quarter is derived as nine months less the second and third quarters. Fourth quarter: the $35–40B the CFO guided to on October 20; the outlined part is the range. Starbase: about $24B for initial phases, per the city’s notice, to be spent over an unstated period, not in one quarter.
Against SpaceX’s other AI commitments
SpaceX has been spending at a rate that would cover the project within a year. It spent $48.1B on property and equipment in the first nine months of 2026, $19.6B of it in the third quarter, and guided to $35–40B in the fourth. The $24B for Starbase’s initial phases is 60%–69% of that fourth-quarter guidance. SpaceX has not said when the money would be spent.
It is smaller than the chip lease and the Anthropic contract. On October 26 SpaceX disclosed a binding commitment to lease Nvidia chips under a finance lease, with principal payments expected to total about $40B. Anthropic’s amended IPO filing says it expects to pay SpaceX about $3.1B a month once all the capacity it contracted has been delivered, about $37.2B a year at that rate. Epoch AI estimates that Colossus 2 in Memphis had cost about $35.8B by mid-June. The Texas governor’s office put the first phase of Terafab, SpaceX’s chip plant in Grimes County, at more than $16.8B.
The project would add to a fast-growing fleet. SpaceX said it had 1.7 GW of nameplate compute at the end of September, up from 1.4 GW three months earlier, and targets 2.5–3 GW by the end of the year, 0.8–1.3 GW more in one quarter. At Epoch AI’s estimate of about $38M a megawatt for an AI data center including its servers, $24B would pay for about 0.63 GW. That is an illustration; the notice does not say how the money splits between the power plant and the computers.
Among SpaceX’s AI figures, Starbase sits below the chip lease and above Terafab’s first phase
$ billions; different measures, not additive. GPU finance lease: a binding commitment, with aggregate principal payments expected to total about $40B, SpaceX 8-K, October 26. Anthropic’s payments: about $3.1B a month once all capacity is delivered (Anthropic S-1/A), times 12; a rate, not a reported annual figure. Colossus 2: Epoch AI’s estimate of capital cost as of June 15, 2026. Starbase: about $24B for initial phases, city notice. Terafab: first phase, more than $16.8B, Texas governor, August 6.
At Epoch AI’s cost per megawatt, $24B would build about 0.63 GW of AI data center
Gigawatts. SpaceX nameplate compute at the end of the second and third quarters of 2026 and its year-end target of 2.5–3 GW, from its third-quarter results and October 20 call; the outlined part is the range. Last row: $24B divided by Epoch AI’s estimate of $38M per megawatt for an AI data center with its servers (May 2026); an illustration, not a disclosed size. The notice gives no megawatts for the plant or the computers.
The figures behind the charts
| Item | As of | Value |
|---|---|---|
| SpaceX purchases of property and equipment, Q1 2026 (derived) | Q1 2026 | $10.107B |
| SpaceX purchases of property and equipment, Q2 2026 | Q2 2026 | $18.369B |
| SpaceX purchases of property and equipment, Q3 2026 | Q3 2026 | $19.593B |
| SpaceX capex guidance, Q4 2026 | Oct 20 | $35–40B |
| Starbase project, initial phases | Nov 6 notice | ~$24B |
| Starbase ÷ Q3 capex (derived) | 1.22× | |
| Per acre (derived) | $54.1M | |
| Nameplate compute, end Q2 / end Q3 / year-end target | Oct 20 | 1.4 / 1.7 / 2.5–3 GW |
| $24B at $38M per MW (derived) | 0.63 GW |
What this changes on 06.ai
- Texas data center pack: a new on-site gas project in Cameron County, outside the grid-connected pipeline the pack counts; the December 9 vote and the state air permit are the dates to watch.
- A list of AI builders’ own generation is worth keeping: Anthropic’s 1.7 GW of generators (W.049), SpaceX at Starbase, Google’s Wyoming fuel cells (W.030), each with cost and megawatts once disclosed.
- SpaceX’s fourth-quarter results will show whether capital spending reached the $35–40B it guided to, and may say what Starbase adds to its 2.5–3 GW target.
Sources and method
| Item | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Notice | Hearing December 9, 2026, 7:00 p.m., on a Chapter 312 property tax abatement and a Chapter 380 economic development agreement; applicant and owner Space Exploration Technologies Corp.; a gas-fired power plant and super-compute facility on about 444 acres between Boca Chica Blvd and the Port of Brownsville, in the Cameron County Enterprise Zone; about $24B for initial phases, possibly built in phases with future expansions | City of Starbase, notice of public hearing |
| Notice | Notice posted Friday, November 6, per The 956 Report; a pending state air filing lists temporary gas turbines in a first phase, later replaced by GE Vernova turbines (figures not in the notice; the filing was not read by FourWeekMBA) | FourWeekMBA, Nov 8 |
| Notice | Original local report of the tax break request | The 956 Report |
| Records | The Information reported that public records appear to show SpaceX building a supercomputer at Starbase | FourWeekMBA, Nov 7 |
| Land | Brownsville voted on August 29 to release about 445 acres; SpaceX to fund up to $220M of water projects | KRGV, on the Texas Tribune, Aug 31 |
| SpaceX | Purchases of property and equipment: Q3 2026 $19.593B; Q2 $18.369B; nine months $48.069B | SpaceX third-quarter 2026 results, Oct 20 |
| SpaceX | Q4 capital spending guidance $35–40B; nameplate compute 1.7 GW at the end of Q3; target of 2.5–3 GW by the end of 2026 | SpaceX Q3 call, Oct 20 (transcript) |
| SpaceX | Nameplate compute 1.7 GW at the end of Q3, up from 1.4 GW at the end of Q2 (results release); nine-month capex about $48.07B | Pulse 2.0, on SpaceX’s Q3 results |
| SpaceX | Binding commitment for a GPU finance lease; aggregate principal payments expected to total about $40B; expected to close before year-end | SpaceX Form 8-K, Oct 26 |
| Anthropic | Expects to pay SpaceX about $3.1B a month once all capacity has been delivered | Anthropic S-1/A, Nov 2 |
| Comparators | Colossus 2 capital cost about $35.8B, as of June 15, 2026 (estimate) | Epoch AI, data center directory |
| Comparators | A 1 GW AI data center costs about $38B up front, servers included (estimate) | Epoch AI, May 14, 2026 |
| Comparators | Terafab first phase in Grimes County: capital investment of more than $16.8B | Office of the Texas Governor, Aug 6 |
| Tax | Grimes County approved a property tax break for Terafab despite resident pushback | KEDT, Jun 5, 2026 |
| Tax | SpaceX’s earlier Starbase projects nominated for the state Enterprise Zone program, each eligible for up to $3.75M of sales-tax refunds | Texas Tribune, Jan 29, 2026 |
We read the notice itself; the posting date and the air filing come from local reporting. Against capital spending: 24 ÷ 19.593 = 1.22×; 24 ÷ 40 = 60% and 24 ÷ 35 = 68.6%; nine months 10.107 + 18.369 + 19.593 = 48.069 ($B). The first quarter is derived as nine-month spending of $48.069B less the second and third quarters. Per acre: 24000 ÷ 444 = 54.1 ($M). Anthropic: 3.1 × 12 = 37.2 ($B). Compute: 2.5 − 1.7 = 0.8 and 3 − 1.7 = 1.3 GW; 24 ÷ 38 = 0.632 GW ($B ÷ $M per MW). Days: November 6 to December 9 = 33. The acreage is about 444 in the notice and about 445 in the Brownsville vote as reported.
Wire reports are written within hours of the news, on a six-hour schedule. Each lists its sources and shows the arithmetic behind its figures. Not investment advice.