SpaceX has spent $329 million this year on purchases of Tesla's large energy storage system (ESS) Megapack.

TechCrunch reported on Aug. 4 that SpaceX invested $295 million in Megapack purchases in the second quarter.

The purchase is seen as another example of the connected structure among affiliates led by Elon Musk. Musk is SpaceX's chief executive and largest shareholder, and also leads Tesla. Musk's artificial intelligence (AI) company xAI acquired social media platform X, formerly Twitter, in 2025, and early this year SpaceX absorbed xAI.

The market is watching for the Megapacks to be deployed at xAI data centres. xAI previously bought $430 million worth of Megapacks for use at data centres, and its first-quarter purchases totalled $34 million. SpaceX also secured Tesla Cybertrucks worth $131 million at the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) as of December 2025.

Large batteries are considered key equipment in data centre operations. xAI has relied heavily on natural gas power generation, including dozens of unpermitted turbines, at a site near its Colossus data centre project in Mississippi. Natural gas generation alone has limits in reliably meeting data centre power demand. Megapacks provide "large-scale backup power that can be deployed within one second" and can also supply extra power when graphics processing units (GPUs) sharply raise electricity use.

Battery demand is also rising because power demand at AI data centres is not steady. Power use can swing sharply when AI model training and inference workloads concentrate. Such "power peak" events can lead local utilities to impose additional charges or exceed on-site generation capacity. Batteries help smooth these peaks, cut costs and support stable data centre operations.

SpaceX's expanded Megapack purchases appear to align with xAI's infrastructure expansion. With second-quarter purchases jumping from the first quarter, it shows battery equipment is rapidly taking a larger share of data centre power operations. The link between Tesla's energy business and AI infrastructure demand within Musk's group of affiliates is also becoming clearer.