SpaceX is pursuing in-house production of large gas turbine blades and vanes in Bastrop, Texas, aiming to bypass the conventional power supply chain for AI data centers. The Bastrop site is located about 30 miles from Austin, where the company has taken concrete steps to establish a dedicated foundry for these core components.

Elon Musk confirmed the report on social media and noted that, even with substantial solar investments, natural gas will still be needed to supplement and start solar grids in the coming years. He added that casting blades and vanes in-house could reduce gas-turbine deployment times by as much as 18 months.

SpaceX has posted job openings tied to the new industrial gas turbine line in Bastrop, including a senior operations engineer, a senior materials/automation/mold engineer, and a CNC programmer.

Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said the project appears to be moving forward, according to the coverage.

The article notes that the global turbine blades and vanes supply chain has long been dominated by four major foundries, with orders for large turbine makers such as GE Vernova already booked through 2030.

Musk has said that blades and vanes are the bottleneck slowing turbine deliveries and AI data-center construction.

Jonas added that the Bastrop facility could serve both data-center demand and SpaceX’s Raptor rocket-engine turbine-pump components, and Musk is pursuing interim power through external purchases, including a deal with Fortress Investment Group and potential turbine acquisitions via FTAI Aviation-linked entities.

If the Bastrop plant is completed, Musk has indicated it could enable more than 10 GW of ground-based data centers by the end of 2027.

The report also references environmental and technical concerns, including a BNEF estimate that U.S. carbon emissions could rise about 20% if data centers build their own gas-fired plants.