Elon Musk’s space company is preparing to invest $100 billion in a vast new Louisiana spaceport designed to launch rockets, state leaders and the company announced Tuesday.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry hailed the agreement as a major victory for both the state and the nation, comparing its potential significance to the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.
“Today is nothing short of a transformational moment,” Landry told lawmakers and other attendees during a special event marking the announcement.
Musk did not attend in person, though he appeared alongside Landry in a promotional video shown before the governor’s remarks. SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell also addressed the crowd.
The proposed spaceport would sit on 125,000 acres of former Exxon land along Louisiana’s southern coast in Vermilion Parish, roughly 200 miles west of New Orleans. State officials said the site offers important advantages, including plentiful natural gas access and the ability to support launches across a wide range of trajectories.
According to a Louisiana Economic Development news release, the facility would become the company’s fourth launch site and its largest, serving as a critical hub for expanding missions using the reusable Starship launch system. The company currently operates launch sites in Florida, Texas and California.
SpaceX wants to dramatically increase rocket launches as it aims to put more satellites in orbit. SpaceX hit its 100th mission this year on Aug. 19 after a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base. The Louisiana site could support thousands of launches each year, the news release said.
Louisiana lawmakers had already approved substantial tax incentives tied to the project.
Anne Rolfes, director of the environmental advocacy organization Louisiana Bucket Brigade, said she is concerned the state is rushing ahead with a development that could “irrevocably alter” Louisiana’s vulnerable coastline. State officials said construction is expected to begin in 2027, with the first launch possible as early as 2029.
“It should be thoughtfully done – with public hearings, and a public process that is transparent and gives people time to understand and consider the project,” Rolfes said in a statement. “The speed of the project and the fanfare and bombast make it all highly questionable.”
Shotwell said SpaceX planned to keep much of the site undeveloped and would help with restoration and protection efforts, including working to reverse land loss from erosion and “careless use.”
“We are committed to doing our part to ensure that this land doesn’t disappear,” she said.
The company plans to host town halls and other community engagement events in the coming months. State officials said the project would generate 3,000 jobs over a decade.
SpaceX, which filed for a confidential initial public offering in April, said it sees a market opportunity of more than $28 trillion across the industries it operates in.
Of that, 90% is attributed to xAI alone, according to an analysis by Van Ha Trinh, a financial markets analyst at the online broker Exness. That points to SpaceX’s belief that its artificial intelligence capabilities will fuel its growth.
In June, Musk sold SpaceX shares to the public for the first time in the biggest IPO ever. Shares jumped as high as $225 a share, briefly making Musk a trillionaire.
Musk has ambitious plans for the company, including establishing a human colony on Mars and deploying solar-powered data centers in space. On Monday, Musk said on social media that SpaceX plans to put its first data center in space by the end of next year.
