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Pershing Square Capital founder Bill Ackman says Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) CEO Elon Musk‘s ambitious data center and AI compute goals could lead to the company acquiring unprecedented levels of debt.

Elon Musk May Need to Borrow $1 Trillion

During an appearance at an event in Mexico City on Saturday, Ackman was asked whether he believed that the amount of spending and debt required to build AI infrastructure was sustainable. “I think it is sustainable because intelligence is an enormously valuable asset,” and that the demand for compute will be sustained.

Ackman also said that “the hyperscalers that are building out a lot of this infrastructure have the financial resources, the creditworthiness in order to access the capital.”

However, the investor expressed concerns about the “pure play neocloud companies” that specialize in providing compute infrastructure. “I think they’re much more at risk. They’re much more sensitive to the cost of capital,” he said.

Ackman then pointed to SpaceX, saying that Musk had shared projections for the company’s AI compute capabilities during the Q3 2026 earnings call. “If he [Elon Musk] meets his objective, he might have to borrow a trillion dollars of capital,” Ackman said.

He added that companies were “competing at sovereign levels” to borrow capital, saying that AI buildouts are causing companies to rival entire countries for debt, which results in a “massive” debt supply. “I don’t see a world in which… there’s a lot of demand for capital and a finite supply,” he said.

“The return on investment on the compute is well beyond the cost of the capital,” Ackman said, when asked about whether interest rates could impact AI borrowing. “If rates were at five or at six, they’re still going to spend the money,” he added.

Elon Musk on Neoclouds

The comments come as Musk had recently warned that Neoclouds may find it difficult to access debt as the demand for establishing infrastructure could lead to many of these companies failing or to significant consolidation in the sector. CoreWeave Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWV) is a prominent of example of a neocloud.

The claim came as SpaceX announced it was raising $40 billion in debt to fund its compute infrastructure buildup and buy graphics processing units, or GPUs. Notably, SpaceX’s AI revenue, during Q3 2026, jumped $7.56 billion and covers 52% of the company’s consolidated revenue. However, SpaceX’s spending has also ballooned to fund the buildout.

Price Action: SPCX shares were up 3.19% to $139.02 during pre-market trading on Monday.

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