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SpaceX Has a Binding Commitment for a $40 Billion GPU Lease With an Apollo Global Management Entity, a Release Says; Closing Is Still Pending

An October 26 release on Apollo Global Management's website says SpaceX has reached a binding commitment to enter into an approximately $40 billion master finance lease for GPUs and related equipment with an Apollo-managed entity, subject to closing conditions, with closing expected before the end of 2026. Elon Musk had said on October 25 that SpaceX "closed $40B of debt for GPUs"; the release describes a commitment that has not yet closed. The deal was first reported on October 6 as early-stage talks.

Times of AI Desk 7 min read Hawthorne / New York View as Markdown
Engraved bond ledger titled SpaceX forty-billion chip facility, Apollo and Pimco seals half-inked, Nvidia GPU crates on a loading dock, an early-stage stamp across the term sheet, cobalt and graphite intaglio.

Updated October 27, 2026: Added the October 26 release describing a binding commitment for an approximately $40 billion GPU lease with an entity managed by Apollo Global Management, and how its wording compares with Elon Musk's October 25 post. The October 26 and October 7 reports are below, unchanged.

October 27: Apollo's release describes a lease commitment that has not yet closed#

A release dated October 26 on the website of Apollo Global Management says SpaceX "has reached a binding commitment to enter into an approximately $40 billion master finance lease for GPUs and related equipment" with an entity managed by Apollo Global Management. Apollo here is the investment firm, not Apollo, the sales software company named in our October 24 report on xAI's partner network.

The release says the lease will deliver Nvidia's next-generation Vera Rubin chips for SpaceX's "terrestrial compute buildout." It says the financing parties are led by Apollo and Goldman Sachs, which served as sole structuring agent, and that funds and accounts managed by BlackRock and Goldman Sachs Asset Management and capital accounts advised by KKR made anchor commitments. It says entry into the lease remains subject to specified closing conditions and is expected to close before the end of 2026, with lease schedules expected to begin when the GPUs and related equipment are delivered in the first half of 2027.

TechCrunch reports that the filing describes leases of about five to five-and-a-quarter years, with Apollo's entity buying the chips and server hardware and leasing them to SpaceX. The release points to SpaceX's Form 8-K for further terms.

SpaceX Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen is quoted in the release as saying the lease "diversifies our funding sources and addresses a notable portion of the funding required to deliver on our growth plans," and that SpaceX is seeing "less than one year payback periods" on its infrastructure investments. The payback figure is the company's statement.

How this compares with the earlier accounts#

Musk wrote on October 25 that "SpaceX closed $40B of debt for GPUs" and later called it "primarily callable debt for GPU purchases that will arrive in Q1 and Q2," as described in the October 26 block below. The release instead describes a binding commitment to enter into a master finance lease that remains subject to closing conditions, and it does not use the word "closed" or describe callable debt. TechCrunch describes the lease as another way for SpaceX to fund its AI buildout "without relying solely on traditional debt markets."

On who is leading, the release names both Apollo and Goldman Sachs as leaders of the financing parties, which fits both the Financial Times account of Apollo leading and the Bloomberg account, relayed by CNBC, of Goldman Sachs leading talks.

Limits of the October 27 update#

  • We read the release on Apollo's website and TechCrunch's report; we did not read SpaceX's Form 8-K, so the lease term comes from TechCrunch's reading of it.
  • The release is not a statement that the deal has closed; closing is subject to conditions and expected before year-end 2026.
  • The release describes a lease and does not mention the roughly $10 billion of bank loans and $30 billion of investment-grade debt, or the 2027 closing, in the Financial Times account of October 6 below; we have not seen a source that says whether they describe the same package.
  • The release headline reads "Largest GPU Financing Ever" while its text says "largest committed GPU financing"; both are SpaceX and Apollo's characterizations, and we did not compare them with other deals.
  • The "less than one year payback" figure and the Vera Rubin delivery plan are company statements.

Updated October 26, 2026: Added Elon Musk's statement that SpaceX has closed the $40 billion debt financing, and what Reuters and CNBC say remains unclear. The original October 7 report of early-stage talks is below, unchanged.

October 26: Musk says the debt is closed#

Elon Musk posted on X on Sunday, October 25 that "SpaceX closed $40B of debt for GPUs, but we're investment grade and have Starlink & launch revenue." In a later reply he described it as "primarily callable debt for GPU purchases that will arrive in Q1 and Q2," adding: "Not a major factor this quarter." Reuters said it was not immediately clear what Musk meant by the deal being "closed" or whether investors had agreed to pricing.

Musk wrote that debt markets "have almost entirely shut off access to money for any company that doesn't have substantial revenue independent of AI data centers." "That means the 200+ neoclouds are going to see guppy-level death and consolidation. Some will make it through, but not many," he wrote. In another reply he said: "SpaceX is not buying any neoclouds. Pointless."

Reuters reports that SpaceX expects $35 billion to $40 billion of capital spending in the fourth quarter, according to Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen. It says SpaceX's third-quarter revenue rose 161% from a year earlier to $14.58 billion, with AI revenue of $7.56 billion.

CNBC, citing Bloomberg, reports that the financing would use a special purpose vehicle to keep the debt off SpaceX's balance sheet and that Goldman Sachs was leading talks with investors including Apollo Global Management.

Limits of the October 26 update#

  • The only confirmation that the deal has closed is Musk's own post; SpaceX has not published terms, lenders or pricing in the sources we read.
  • Musk's "Q1 and Q2" does not name a year; CNBC reads it as the first and second quarters of 2027.
  • Bloomberg's account via CNBC has Goldman Sachs leading talks with Apollo among investors, while the FT's October 6 account below had Apollo leading; we did not read Bloomberg's latest report directly.
  • The figure of 200+ neoclouds and the consolidation forecast are Musk's.

One of the largest single debt packages yet floated to buy GPUs is still only a talk — and the borrower on the term sheet, if there is one, is SpaceX, not xAI.

The Financial Times reported on October 6 that SpaceX plans to raise about $40 billion of debt to pay for Nvidia AI chips, citing people familiar. Reuters relayed the FT's structure: roughly $10 billion of bank loans and $30 billion of investment-grade debt, with Apollo Global Management expected to lead and place the debt. Bond manager Pimco is among a small group of lenders in talks, and the transaction is expected to close in 2027.

Bloomberg separately reported, also citing people familiar, that SpaceX is in talks with banks and investors and that Pacific Investment Management is looking at the deal. Bloomberg said the discussions are at an early stage and could end without a deal. SpaceX, Apollo and Nvidia did not immediately respond; Pimco declined to comment to Reuters.

Structure and market read#

If the FT figures hold, three-quarters of the package would be investment-grade debt placed by a private-credit firm — chip purchases financed like infrastructure rather than out of equity or cash flow. That spreads AI-capex exposure into bond and private-credit portfolios at a moment when, Reuters notes, lenders are growing more cautious.

After-hours: SpaceX shares fell about 1% (Reuters) / as much as 1.8% (Bloomberg); Nvidia rose about 0.5%.

Context, carefully#

SpaceX took itself public in June in a record $86 billion IPO, Reuters notes, and Musk has said the company will use Nvidia hardware exclusively for its data centres. After SpaceX acquired xAI, Colossus compute sits on the combined balance sheet — but this debt story's named borrower is SpaceX.

Bloomberg cites Musk's September claim that xAI's Colossus 2 has 110,000 GB200s and 440,000 GB300s, with more due by year-end. Those chip counts are Musk via Bloomberg, not an audited inventory.

Apollo is among the firms Nvidia partnered with in August on financing platforms meant to mobilise more than $500 billion for AI infrastructure. Nothing we read places this SpaceX package inside that coalition.

Limits#

  • In talks / early stage / may not happen — no party confirmation.
  • $10B / $30B split and Apollo lead = FT figures (FT original not inspected; Reuters relay).
  • Bloomberg confirms talks and Pimco independently; uses FT for structure.
  • Borrower is SpaceX, not "xAI borrowing."
  • Colossus 2 counts = Musk claims relayed by Bloomberg.

Sources#

Prior Coverage

Earlier Times of AI reporting on this thread.

Related Coverage

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