TechCrunch: SpaceX filing highlights space-based solar as Musk-linked firms grapple with AI power demand

A TechCrunch analysis published on May 23 said a recent SpaceX IPO-related filing portrays space-based solar power as a preferred answer to the surging electricity needs of AI data centers, framing it as more scalable than terrestrial solar. The article contrasted that emphasis with Tesla’s long-running public messaging, including four “Master Plans” over the years that promoted electrification and what Elon Musk once described as a shift toward a “solar electric economy.”

According to TechCrunch, the SpaceX document argues that solar arrays in space could produce “more than five-times the energy” of ground-based installations because they can receive sunlight continuously, rather than being limited by night and weather. The filing also cites “terawatt-scale annual AI compute growth” and contends that widely cited third-party projections for data-center electricity demand may be understated because they assume terrestrial supply constraints that could become binding.

The analysis also pointed to energy choices inside Musk’s other companies as AI infrastructure expands. It reported that xAI is running data centers using dozens of unregulated natural-gas turbines and is planning additional purchases, while also buying grid-scale battery storage from Tesla: xAI has spent $697 million on Tesla Megapacks over the last two years to help manage peak loads. TechCrunch characterized the gas-turbine buildout as reinforcing fossil-fuel use in xAI’s current operations.

TechCrunch further noted financial ties among Musk’s companies, including SpaceX spending on Tesla Cybertrucks. While the article described potential motivations for shifting energy-intensive computing off Earth—such as local opposition to new data centers—it also emphasized economic and technical hurdles for orbiting data centers and space-based computing, despite suggestions that such systems could be closer than many expect.

In contextual figures cited by the article, global data centers were described as using around 40 gigawatts of power today, compared with humanity’s overall energy use of roughly 35,000 terawatt-hours per year, or about 4 terawatts continuously. The TechCrunch piece argued that Musk and SpaceX appear to be positioning space-based solar and potentially orbiting infrastructure as a response to anticipated power shortages on Earth as AI demand grows.