SpaceX signed a binding commitment letter on Oct. 24, 2026, to enter a master finance lease with an entity managed by Apollo Global Management. The company estimated that payments under the lease schedules would include about $40 billion in principal. Its Form 8-K, filed Oct. 26, made the planned master lease subject to closing conditions.
What SpaceX committed to
The Apollo-managed entity is to acquire GPU pods and related equipment, then lease them to SpaceX for data centers SpaceX selects. The commitment letter covers a proposed master finance lease, with separate schedules for equipment delivered in tranches.
SpaceX expected the master lease to close before the end of 2026, subject to specified conditions. It also expected the lease schedules to begin as GPU tranches arrived in the first half of 2027.
What the $40 billion covers
The roughly $40 billion is an estimate of aggregate principal payments across the lease schedules. Interest and certain ongoing costs and expenses would be additional. The fixed annual rate used to calculate interest was to be set at pricing before the master lease was entered.
Rent was expected quarterly in advance. For each tranche, the general payment formula includes one-twentieth of its financed cost, plus a charge calculated at the fixed annual rate on the outstanding balance and certain ongoing costs and expenses.
| Lease term | Expected structure |
| Aggregate principal | About $40 billion across the lease schedules; interest and certain ongoing costs and expenses are additional |
| Rent | Payable quarterly in advance; generally includes one-twentieth of each tranche’s financed cost, plus a fixed-rate charge on the outstanding balance and certain ongoing costs and expenses |
| Schedule for each tranche | Approximately five to five-and-a-quarter years from that schedule’s start date |
| Master lease closing | Expected before the end of 2026, subject to specified conditions |
| Equipment delivery and schedule start | Lease schedules expected to begin in the first half of 2027 as GPU tranches are delivered |
SpaceX’s AI business in Q3 2026
In a report published Oct. 28, Thomas said SpaceX’s AI business generated $7.6 billion of the company’s $14.6 billion in Q3 2026 revenue. Thomas also reported nearly $20 billion in capital spending that quarter, compared with $6.9 billion a year earlier, and said SpaceX expected $35 billion to $40 billion in Q4 2026 spending. Those figures describe reported business revenue and spending, not payments or returns from the Apollo lease.
