SpaceX Confirms a 6 GW AI Supercomputer Campus in Cochise County, Arizona: What the Filing Says and What Is Disputed

SpaceX has confirmed it is behind a proposed AI supercomputer campus in Cochise County, Arizona, with nine buildings on 747 acres and a full build-out of up to 6 gigawatts. The application came through an affiliate, Tombstone Resources LLC. The county's Planning and Zoning Commission holds its formal hearing on December 9, 2026. Nothing is approved yet.

This is one of the largest AI data center proposals in the US by power demand. It also shows the pattern we have tracked all month: the build-out is colliding with local water, grid and land fights. The numbers below come from the filing as reported by local outlets, and we flag where sources disagree.

Update (November 12, 2026): SpaceX states $50B Arizona and $24B Texas supercompute plans

SpaceX published an official orbital data centers update on November 12, 2026 naming more than $74 billion in planned U.S. investment split between:

The post aligns with Grace Kay's New York Times reporting summarized on Techmeme, including the angle that SpaceX's AI business already generates more than half of company revenue in recent quarters. Yahoo Finance and Teslarati recap the same dollar figures Thursday.

What changed for this Arizona thread: SpaceX itself put a $50 billion figure on the Cochise campus. Our earlier post treated $50 billion as Baxtel-attributed and not confirmed in the county file. The November 12 SpaceX statement is now the primary capex anchor for that number, though zoning approval on December 9 is still pending and local water and grid fights continue.

The Texas Starbase vote also lands December 9, the same day as Cochise's hearing—watch both calendars if you model power or tax incentives for inference build-outs.

TL;DR

What the application proposes

Per Baxtel's report, SpaceX confirmed it is behind the proposal, filed through Tombstone Resources, and that it would own and build the project long term. The site sits along U.S. Highway 191 near the Willcox Playa. Tombstone plans to buy about 400 acres from the Arizona Electric Power Cooperative (AEPCO) and 348 acres from Southline Transmission LLC.

The design is nine buildings of 493,000 square feet each, built in four phases of about 1.5 GW. Phase one is about 1,500 MW. Construction could begin in March 2027 if zoning is approved. AZFamily reported on November 5 that the site is near the Apache Generating Station, that the application names Tombstone as the applicant, and that "the exact relationship between the two companies is unclear" at that point. SpaceX hosted the community meeting but a representative was not available to comment then. The later Baxtel report says SpaceX confirmed the link.

The power question

Six gigawatts is a very large load for a rural county. Baxtel notes that Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative (SSVEC) has a summer peak of about 250 MW. Phase one would need roughly six times that, and full build-out about 24 times. SSVEC says the developer must fund all upgrades, and wholesale power would come from AEPCO.

The application, as reported, includes:

• $3.6 billion in new transmission infrastructure, later transferred to AEPCO at no cost to the member cooperatives.
• A 24 GWh battery energy storage system.
• 90 MW of gas-fired backup generators.

SSVEC expects to file a rate case in fall 2027, per Baxtel. AZFamily quoted SSVEC CEO Jason Bowling saying both excitement and concern are valid and that the facts should come out so people can evaluate them. Claims that bills could fall for some local customers come from the applicant, and we found no independent analysis of them.

For the national picture of who pays for data center power, see our posts on the Senate permitting bill and transmission costs and the PJM wholesale capacity figures.

The water question

Water is the issue in dry Arizona. Per Baxtel, SpaceX says it will use zero industrial water for cooling. The application estimates a one-time fill of 3 to 5 million gallons and 2 to 3 million gallons per year for sanitation, and no new well would be drilled. AZFamily says the application proposes dry cooling plus other unspecified environmental measures and gave no volumes.

Dry cooling saves water and uses more electricity, which adds to a load that is already large. Residents at the November 4 meeting raised water, wildlife and noise, per AZFamily. Our earlier report on Arizona's data center water backlash covers the state context.

Local reaction

Hundreds attended the November 4 meeting at Cochise Elementary, and Baxtel reports an online petition had nearly 2,100 signatures. AZFamily quoted a supporter, Herald Satterlee, saying "We need AI centers. It's the future," and a skeptic, Michael Gregory, who said there is not enough information and he would reject the project for now. Baxtel adds the site is near a wintering ground for sandhill cranes, so state and federal wildlife agencies will review designs.

Cochise County adopted a data center zoning code in April, per Baxtel. That means the hearing will test a new rule on a very large first case.

Where the numbers disagree

Not every figure matches across sources. We kept the ones with a named report and flagged the rest.

• Total cost. Baxtel gives up to $50 billion. A local KJZZ report, as summarized in search results, said it was not immediately clear what the project would cost. We could not open the KJZZ or Data Center Dynamics pages (both returned access errors), so we cannot compare them line by line.
• Jobs and tax. An X-post-based summary circulating on November 12 cites 5,500 construction jobs and up to $103 million a year in property tax. Baxtel, citing the application, gives about 3,000 construction jobs, 1,000 permanent jobs and $30 million to $100 million a year in property tax, plus a one-time sales tax benefit of up to $450 million. We use the Baxtel set.
• Site detail. Reports give 747 acres or "about 750 acres." That is a rounding difference.
• Who is the applicant. The filing names Tombstone Resources. SpaceX has since confirmed the link, per Baxtel, but the legal relationship between the companies is not spelled out in the reporting we read.

The pattern is common: the headline number is the applicant's, and the county file is the check. When the full record is public, compare it to these figures.

Why this matters for AI builders

SpaceX now runs a large AI business. Its compute plans already include Colossus 2, which we covered in our Colossus 2 GPU-count check, and a Texas facility in the Starbase supercompute notice. Its Q3 2026 results put AI revenue and gigawatt-scale compute at the center of the story. A 6 GW campus would be another step in that plan, and it would train and serve the models developers use.

For builders, the lesson is about supply. Models get cheaper and faster only if the power and sites exist. Local votes, such as the Ohio ballot bans, and federal bills, such as the Hawley moratorium proposal, can slow or move capacity. A county hearing in Bisbee is now part of the AI supply chain.

How the timeline unfolded

The story moved fast in about ten days. On November 3, KJZZ reported that the largest data center proposal in Arizona's history was heading to Cochise County and that a first community meeting was scheduled. On November 4, hundreds of residents attended that meeting, which the county had described as privately organized by SpaceX. On November 5, local TV reports said SpaceX was likely behind the plan, while noting the application named only Tombstone Resources. By November 10, KJZZ's headline said SpaceX is behind the proposal, and Baxtel reported SpaceX's confirmation. On November 12, summaries of the filing began to circulate widely on social media, some with figures that do not match the application as reported by the outlets above.

That sequence matters for readers. An affiliate filing hides the parent company's name at first, and the public learns it through meetings and press. Zoning applications for AI campuses often follow this path, so a project may appear under an unfamiliar LLC name weeks before the real owner is clear.

How to read a campus application like this

Four checks separate a plan from a promise. First, read the phasing: a 6 GW ceiling is not the same as the 1.5 GW first phase, and each phase needs its own power. Second, read who funds the grid work. Here the applicant says it pays, and the cooperative says the developer must. Third, read the water table with units: one-time fill, yearly sanitation and any cooling make-up are different numbers. Fourth, read the jobs claim by type. Permanent jobs are small for a campus this size, and construction jobs end when the buildings do.

What to watch next

1. December 9 hearing. Whether the commission recommends approval, denies, or asks for changes. Baxtel says the start was moved to 2 p.m. in Bisbee for turnout.
2. The county file. Whether the application text supports the $50 billion, jobs and tax figures.
3. Wildlife review. State and federal agency comments on the sandhill crane habitat.
4. SSVEC rate case. Expected in fall 2027, per Baxtel. This is where costs to local customers become concrete.
5. Phasing. Whether phase one alone, about 1.5 GW, is what the commission actually weighs.

Related reading

• SpaceX Starbase supercompute facility notice
• SpaceX Colossus 2: claimed vs verified
• SpaceX Q3 2026 earnings and AI revenue
• Arizona data center water backlash
• Ohio voters pass data center bans
• Hawley federal data center moratorium bill

This post reflects reporting available on November 12, 2026. We will update it after the December 9 hearing.