SpaceX lines up about $40 billion GPU lease financing with Apollo-managed entity

SpaceX has agreed to lease graphics processing unit equipment for its data centers from an entity managed by Apollo Global Management, in an arrangement the company expects to carry about $40 billion in principal payments, according to an 8-K filed Monday.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. signed a binding commitment letter on Oct. 24 to enter a master finance lease. Under it, the Apollo-managed lessor will buy GPU pods and related equipment and lease them to SpaceX for use at data centers the company selects, the filing said.

The equipment is set to arrive in tranches. Each tranche gets its own lease schedule running roughly five to five and a quarter years from its start, according to the 8-K.

How the payments work

Rent is due quarterly in advance. Each payment generally covers one-twentieth of the financed cost of that tranche, plus an amount calculated at a fixed annual rate on the outstanding lease balance and certain ongoing costs, the filing said. The fixed rate will be set at pricing, before SpaceX signs the master lease.

SpaceX said it expects aggregate principal payments across all lease schedules to total approximately $40 billion.

Not done yet

The deal still has to close. Entry into the master finance lease is subject to closing conditions and is expected before year-end, and the lease schedules are expected to begin in the first half of 2027 as GPUs are delivered, according to the 8-K. The company cautioned that the transaction may not close on the expected terms or timeline, or at all.

The filing was signed by Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen.

By the numbers

• About $40 billion: expected aggregate principal payments
• Oct. 24, 2026: binding commitment letter signed
• 5 to 5.25 years: term of each lease schedule
• One-twentieth: share of a tranche's financed cost in each quarterly rent payment
• First half of 2027: expected start of lease schedules

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