SpaceX disclosed Monday that its $40 billion artificial intelligence chip financing arrangement remains subject to pricing and closing conditions, despite CEO Elon Musk’s announcement a day earlier that the company had completed a debt deal of the same size.
An SEC filing Monday shows that SpaceX signed a binding commitment letter on October 24 with an entity managed by Apollo Global Management. The arrangement covers graphics processing units and related equipment that Apollo’s entity would acquire and lease to SpaceX.
The company expects the definitive master finance lease to close before the end of 2026, according to the filing. Its interest rate has not yet been established.
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Under the proposed terms, equipment will arrive in tranches beginning in the first half of 2027. Each lease will run approximately five to five-and-one-quarter years, with quarterly payments covering principal, interest, and additional expenses.
SpaceX also cautioned that the transaction could close on different terms, be delayed, or fail to close.
Musk’s announcement preceded the filing
On Sunday, Musk wrote, “SpaceX closed $40B of debt for GPUs,” citing the company’s investment-grade credit ratings and revenue from its Starlink and rocket-launch businesses. Bloomberg subsequently reported, citing people familiar with the negotiations, that pricing discussions remained unresolved late Sunday in New York.
The unfinished transaction follows an earlier attempt to finance AI infrastructure through equipment sale-leasebacks.
SpaceX’s September-quarter filing disclosed that three transactions involving Valor Equity Partners were classified as failed sale-leasebacks for accounting purposes, resulting in $12.897 billion of debt on its balance sheet.
Valor founder Antonio Gracias also serves as a SpaceX director. The arrangements generated $864 million in interest expense during the first nine months of 2026.
Bloomberg previously reported that the new structure was designed to keep liabilities outside SpaceX’s consolidated balance sheet, although the October 26 filing does not establish its eventual accounting classification.
SpaceX reported $38.006 billion in debt principal as of September 30, alongside $89.855 billion in cash and short-term marketable securities. Capital expenditure reached $48.069 billion during the first nine months.
Its AI-focused Super Intelligence segment generated $7.56 billion in third-quarter revenue, up 830% year over year, and recorded $431 million in operating profit after a $1.722 billion loss a year earlier.
