SpaceX gets military tracking data access and announces $40B debt financing for AI chips
Photo: The Guardian USThe US military has given Elon Musk's SpaceX access to restricted space tracking data, including its most precise information on potential collisions among satellites and other objects, under a new contract signed by SpaceX and the Space Force. Industry observers say the access gives Musk's companies an advantage over rivals offering similar services and raises national security questions. It follows 2025 firings of many staff in the federal Traffic Coordination System for Space (Traccs) by Musk's Doge, and two administration attempts to cut the program's funding. Separately, Musk said on Sunday that SpaceX has closed $40 billion in debt financing to buy graphics processing units for its AI operations. He said SpaceX qualified because of its investment-grade status and its Starlink and launch revenue. In a follow-up post on X he said the debt is primarily callable, the chips arrive in Q1 and Q2 (the first half of 2027), and it is "not a major factor this quarter." Reuters had earlier reported talks with banks and asset managers on raising the money for Nvidia chips. It was not immediately clear whether investors had agreed to the pricing terms.
Right-leaning Fox Business covers the financing story, not the tracking data. It leads with Musk's announcement, quotes his posts, and explains what GPUs are. It frames the deal as a sign of the cost of the AI race and mentions a panel discussion of a reported 161% revenue increase and a possible Tesla merger. It does not mention the military data or Traccs. Left-leaning The Guardian US covers the tracking-data access. It frames it as the Trump administration possibly handing orbital traffic control to a controversial donor, ties it to the Doge firings and funding cuts, and cites the roughly $2 trillion market forecast. It quotes former Traccs employee Cole Donovan on monopoly control and does not mention the financing. The two sets of coverage address different SpaceX developments, so they do not directly conflict. Alternative and independent outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while left-leaning and right-leaning outlets had.
How the sides differ Left sources focus on SpaceX's military data access and national security concerns; right sources focus on its $40 billion chip financing; alternative sources have not covered it.
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The Guardian US leads with SpaceX's access to restricted military tracking data, stressing national security concerns, the Doge-era Traccs cuts and a former Traccs employee's warning about monopoly control.
Not covering this story. None of the alternative or independent outlets Crosswire tracks has reported it yet. What one side leaves out can be as telling as what the others report.
Fox Business leads with Musk's announcement of $40 billion in debt financing for GPUs, quoting his posts and noting the chips' timing, the AI race's costs and unclear pricing terms.