SpaceX plans to build a $24 billion supercomputing facility in Texas.

According to reports, SpaceX plans to invest $24 billion in a new project in the city of Starbase in Cameron County, Texas. The city is built around SpaceX's main rocket manufacturing plant and launch site. The project will include a natural gas power plant and a data center that a city announcement calls a "supercomputing facility." The proposed power plant will be equipped with 35 turbines, with a total generating capacity of 748 megawatts. This stands in sharp contrast to most AI data centers, which rely on local power grids for electricity. However, Musk's path to advancing this project may not be smooth. Democrat Gina Hinojosa won the Texas gubernatorial election held on November 3, defeating Republican incumbent Governor Greg Abbott. During the campaign, Hinojosa opposed the construction of AI data centers and accused Abbott of allowing these high-energy-consuming facilities to expand unchecked. Previously, on August 3, Abbott ordered a pause on the relevant approval process. Until regulators complete their review, new data center projects may not proceed with the grid interconnection process of the Texas grid operator. Whether SpaceX's self-built power plant can allow it to bypass this regulatory obstacle remains to be seen.