Musk Spends $1 Billion to Acquire APR Energy and Power xAI

As artificial intelligence advances rapidly, the race for AI computing capacity has expanded beyond chips to the underlying power infrastructure. Running large AI models consumes vast amounts of electricity, making stable, readily available power a key factor in the competition among technology giants. Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI is aggressively expanding into energy to keep its supercomputers running, underscoring the growing convergence of technology and power generation.

Musk quietly acquired power-generation equipment manufacturer APR Energy for about $1 billion in July 2026, securing an immediate and stable electricity supply for xAI’s data center in Tennessee. Although the deal addressed an urgent power shortfall for AI computing, the equipment relies primarily on fossil fuels. That immediately sparked fierce controversy among local residents and environmental groups over carbon emissions and environmental impacts.