Power Shift: Musk Casts Metal Turbine Parts to Speed Up Data Center Growth

Elon Musk claims he found a way to fix a major bottleneck slowing down data center growth by manufacturing turbine parts in-house. Musk confirmed that a secret foundry built by SpaceX in Bastrop, Texas, will make heavy blades and vanes for gas turbines. Reports from independent analysts pointed out that SpaceX purchased 830 acres of land near its StarLink plant in Texas between March and June.

SpaceX and Tesla plan to build 100 gigawatts of solar production capacity as fast as possible. However, natural gas remains necessary to supply power alongside solar for several years. The main limitation holding back turbine production is casting the internal blades and vanes. By casting parts internally at SpaceX, Musk aims to speed up turbine production and bring new power units online up to 18 months faster.

This manufacturing push targets a major infrastructure issue facing computer networks today. While chip shortages still exist, physical power grid capacity creates a secondary barrier. The International Energy Agency expects global data center electricity use to double by 2030, and turbine manufacturer GE Vernova sold out its supply through 2030 due to high demand.

Because grid upgrades take years, tech companies like Amazon, Google, Meta, OpenAI, and Microsoft build private gas power plants next to their server facilities. After spending years focusing on wind and solar power, major tech operators now rely on natural gas to get facilities running quickly.

Manufacturing turbine blades remains extremely difficult. Internal turbine temperatures hit 3,000 to 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit, exceeding the melting point of the metal itself. These parts survive only through specialized cooling channels and heat coatings. Manufacturers must cast each blade as a single crystal inside a vacuum furnace to prevent structural seams that crack under pressure. Only four companies worldwide produce these parts at scale, and all four run at full capacity.

If SpaceX succeeds in casting these complex parts, it gives Musk a major advantage over competitors who rely on traditional suppliers.

However, spinning up more gas turbines creates serious pollution concerns for surrounding neighborhoods. In Memphis, where xAI runs gas turbines to supply power to its Colossus facility, local groups accuse the company of running equipment without required environmental permits. The site releases smog-forming chemicals like formaldehyde, which aggravate asthma and respiratory issues in nearby communities.

Similar environmental battles are taking place across the country. In Virginia’s Data Center Alley, a health study found that operating eight full-time gas turbines releases emissions impacting over 2.5 million people across multiple counties, causing significant health damages every year.