SpaceX is preparing to significantly expand its artificial intelligence computing infrastructure. During the company’s third-quarter 2026 earnings call on October 20, Elon Musk said SpaceX expected to bring approximately 10 GW of additional computing capacity online during 2027. He added that he would be surprised if the company had less than 13 GW of AI computing capacity by the end of that year.
For the end of 2026, SpaceX is targeting approximately 2.5–3 GW of computing capacity. According to its third-quarter results, the company had reached 1.7 GW as of September 30, 2026.
How does this compare with Uzbekistan?
According to Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Energy, the country generated 86.7 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity in 2025. Averaged across the entire year, that output is equivalent to approximately 9.9 GW of continuous power.
If SpaceX’s projected 13 GW of computing capacity were to operate continuously at full capacity throughout an entire year, the theoretical energy requirement would be:
- Projected computing capacity: 13 GW.
- Hours in a year: 8,760.
- Theoretical annual energy requirement: 13 × 8,760 = 113.88 billion kWh.
- Uzbekistan’s total electricity generation in 2025: 86.7 billion kWh.
Under this hypothetical scenario, the annual energy equivalent would be approximately 31.4% greater than Uzbekistan’s total electricity generation in 2025.
Computing capacity is not the same as electricity consumption
The comparison does not mean SpaceX is currently consuming 113.9 billion kWh of electricity per year. Gigawatts (GW) measure power capacity, while kilowatt-hours (kWh) measure the amount of energy generated or consumed over time.
AI computing capacity also differs from the total power drawn by a data centre. Actual electricity consumption depends on how intensively computing equipment operates, as well as the energy required for cooling, networking and other supporting infrastructure.
SpaceX is planning to expand its power and cooling infrastructure alongside its computing operations. During the earnings call, Musk said the company was aiming to add 20 GW of power, cooling and related infrastructure capacity in 2027. The goal is to ensure that electricity supply and cooling do not become bottlenecks as additional computing hardware is deployed.
This infrastructure target is separate from the projected 13 GW of computing capacity. The two figures should not be treated as interchangeable measures of electricity consumption.
Why does this matter?
As AI models become more capable and their use expands, training and operating them requires increasing amounts of computing resources. Meeting that demand involves more than acquiring advanced chips: companies must also secure electricity supplies, cooling systems and the infrastructure needed to operate large-scale computing facilities.
SpaceX’s plans illustrate how the expansion of AI is becoming increasingly connected to energy infrastructure. The comparison with Uzbekistan offers a way to understand the scale of the proposed buildout, but it remains a theoretical comparison based on continuous full-capacity operation—not a forecast of SpaceX’s actual annual electricity consumption.
