In recent news, Elon Musk has acquired an energy company headquartered in Florida for approximately $1 billion, aiming to meet the massive power demand of AI data centers. Public records from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the United States indicate that the acquiring party in this case is registered as Elon Musk himself, and the target of acquisition is the Florida-based company, New APR Energy.
The transaction was completed on May 14th, but neither party has officially released a statement to the public. The local media outlet, Jacksonville Daily Record, first disclosed this information in June, which has now garnered attention from media nationwide.
The potential amount of this deal was unexpectedly revealed from another United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing. A tech company based in Jacksonville, Florida, called Duos Technologies Group, disclosed this information in its filing on May 28th.
The company sold its 5% non-voting shares in New APR Energy, yielding a net profit of $50.4 million. By this calculation, Elon Musk’s overall acquisition of New APR Energy is valued at least at $1 billion.
In recent years, Musk has been steadily increasing his investments in the AI field, with his research company xAI and its chatbot Grok gaining significant attention. His xAI operation at the “Colossus” data center in Tennessee involves an investment of $20 billion and is located near a power plant. However, the local grid cannot meet the demands of this data center, forcing Musk to previously rent emergency turbine units.
According to a statement released by New APR Energy in January of this year, its gas turbine fleet’s total power generation capacity has increased to over 1 gigawatt (GW, 1 billion watts). With over 20 years of experience in providing power services, the company emphasizes that its units can be deployed within 30 to 90 days.
As of the time of writing, both New APR Energy and Tesla have not responded to requests for comments.
Technology commentator and podcaster Aakash Gupta analyzed Musk’s latest deal on the social platform X on July 16th, highlighting the electricity shortage issue facing the AI industry.
He pointed out that New APR Energy’s mobile gas and diesel turbine fleet theoretically can supply electricity to 750,000 households simultaneously (over 1 GW). This system, originally designed for disaster response, only requires truck delivery and can be installed and operational within a month.
Gupta believes that the rapid deployment capability is precisely what Musk needs. His xAI previously faced delays in the construction process at the first Memphis plant. “At that time, environmental groups filed lawsuits, and it wasn’t until the Department of Justice intervened that the turbines were allowed to continue running.”
He further stated, “Musk is essentially renting his most critical resource, so he chose to buy the landlord (industry) to ensure that all AI labs can have access to the same chips. Now he owns a mobile power plant unit that can be transported by trucks.”
This marks Musk’s second foray into the energy industry. In 2006, he invested in SolarCity, founded by his cousins Peter Musk and Lyndon Rive, which later became the largest residential solar installer in the United States.
Tesla acquired SolarCity in 2016 for approximately $2.6 billion in an all-stock transaction, merging it into the “Tesla Energy” division.