In 2016, Tesla bought solar company SolarCity and introduced solar roof technology that replaced traditional roof shingles with small solar tiles.<\/p>\n
So why is Musk, of all people, making a quiet billion-dollar investment in fossil fuels on behalf of SpaceX? And what does it mean for SpaceX investors?<\/p>\n
![\"Man](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784163015_430_.jpeg\"\/)
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Image source: The White House.<\/p>\n
A tale of two fuels<\/p>\n
SpaceX\u2019s S-1 prospectus \u2013 the company information shared with the public just before its IPO \u2013 doesn\u2019t mince words when talking about the company\u2019s views on solar energy. \u201cThe Sun contains approximately 99.8% of the solar system\u2019s energy and, as a result, we believe it is the only truly scalable solution<\/a> to terrestrial energy constraints in the age of AI,\u201d the prospectus says. It goes on to repeat this assertion five more times. <\/p>\n However, the company doesn\u2019t seem interested in harnessing solar energy anywhere but in outer space. Its giant Colossus II data center on the Tennessee\/Mississippi border is expected to be powered by natural gas for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n SpaceX\u2019s prospectus notes that it \u201csignificantly\u201d relies \u201con natural gas and gas turbine technology to power our data center operations.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cAs such,\u201d it continues, \u201cour ability to scale our infrastructure depends in part on our continued access to natural gas supply at economically feasible prices [and] the availability of gas turbines and related equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n More gas<\/p>\n Given this ongoing reliance on natural gas power, it\u2019s pretty clear why Musk would want to buy a company that supplies it: owning one\u2019s own power infrastructure minimizes the potential for supply disruptions or rate hikes.<\/p>\n However, SpaceX\u2019s recent billion-dollar acquisition isn\u2019t of an existing gas power plant near the Colossus II data center. It\u2019s of Jacksonville-based APR Energy, which operates a fleet of small gas turbines and diesel engines mounted on trailers. <\/p>\n Image source: Getty Images.<\/p>\n Because these are small, mobile units, they can often be installed within days without the lengthy siting and permitting process required for a permanent power plant.<\/p>\n SpaceX classifies these as temporary mobile equipment units and claims that they\u2019re exempt from Mississippi\u2019s air-permitting rules. The Southern Environmental Law Center and Earthjustice disagreed, and they sued SpaceX in June, arguing that \u201cmobile\u201d equipment isn\u2019t really temporary if it\u2019s parked in the same location permanently and never leaves.<\/p>\n To date, SpaceX has installed 59 of these small units, which could collectively emit 2,500 tons of nitrogen oxide per year, even though each individual unit’s output would likely fall below the 100-ton nitrogen oxide maximum set by the Clean Air Act for unpermitted turbines. <\/p>\n What it means for SpaceX investors<\/p>\n AI data centers are massive, power-hungry facilities. The more there are, the higher the demand for power to supply them. <\/p>\n On the one hand, it\u2019s good that SpaceX is making plans beyond the local electricity grid for its power supply. On the other hand, SpaceX still expects to require additional grid capacity to supplement its natural gas generation. The prospectus says SpaceX will directly fund this capacity through its \u201clocal utility partners.\u201d<\/p>\n What about the lawsuit? Well, in the short term, it doesn\u2019t seem like it will be much of a problem, given that both the U.S. Departments of Justice and Defense have argued against shutting down the company\u2019s mobile power units in Tennessee. They claim such a shutdown would undermine national security because of Grok\u2019s use by the military. Thus, the mobile units are likely to remain at least for the remainder of the Trump Administration.<\/p>\n Space Exploration Technologies<\/p>\n Today’s Change<\/p>\n (-0.61%) $-0.83<\/p>\n Current Price<\/p>\n $135.25<\/p>\n Key Data Points<\/p>\n Market Cap<\/p>\n $1.8TMarket cap calculated using publicly traded shares outstanding only. Does not include unlisted, private, or dual-class non-traded shares. Implied market cap may vary.<\/p>\n Day’s Range<\/p>\n $132.20 – $139.34<\/p>\n 52wk Range<\/p>\n $132.15 – $225.64<\/p>\n Volume<\/p>\n 1.7M<\/p>\n Avg Vol<\/p>\n 144.9M<\/p>\n Beyond that, however, there\u2019s no guarantee. SpaceX notes in its prospectus that \u201cthe outcome of these legal actions is uncertain,\u201d and an incoming administration less friendly to fossil fuels, AI, or Elon Musk could certainly revisit the issue, causing headaches<\/a> for SpaceX down the road.<\/p>\n Lastly, the move calls into question SpaceX\u2019s claims that solar energy<\/a> is both the key to satisfying AI\u2019s endless appetite for electricity and its ticket to dominating a $26.5 trillion AI market<\/a>. If that\u2019s the case, why isn\u2019t the company investing in this critical technology now to get a head start on potential rivals? It\u2019s another sign that investors may have to wait a long time for SpaceX to grow into its current $1.8 trillion valuation<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Elon Musk\u2019s name is practically synonymous with renewable energy. The tech titan and CEO of both Tesla (TSLA…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":765306,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[28],"class_list":["post-765305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=765305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765305\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/765306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=765305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=765305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=765305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Shiny](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784163015_739_.jpeg\"\/)
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