SpaceX says it has closed $40 billion in debt to buy chips, and Elon Musk predicts a shakeout among the “neoclouds.” Meanwhile, JPMorgan does an about-face on Unitree and the chip sector digests its worst session since June.
SpaceX closes $40 billion in debt for its chips, and Musk predicts a neocloud shakeout
Elon Musk says SpaceX has closed $40 billion in debt financing to buy Nvidia chips. He used the occasion to predict that hundreds of smaller AI cloud players are in for a rough ride. The message was posted on X on Sunday, October 25; it is a statement from Musk, not a company filing.
Key points:
- According to Musk, the $40 billion financing is done. The GPUs are expected in the first and second quarters of 2027, according to Investing.com.
- In early October, the Financial Times reported a package of roughly $10 billion in bank loans and $30 billion in bonds, led by Apollo. SpaceX has not confirmed those details.
- Musk believes more than 200 specialized AI cloud providers face bankruptcies and consolidation, because debt markets are nearly closed to them.
- Nebius’s own CEO acknowledges that asset-backed financing has temporarily dried up, according to Stocktwits.
Why it matters for the chip supply chain
Nvidia chips are expensive. Buying them by the tens of thousands means borrowing. SpaceX is leaning on its “investment grade” credit rating and its Starlink and launch revenue to pull it off. That’s its pitch: it borrows against revenue that doesn’t depend on data centers.
For Nvidia, it’s good news in the short term: a big customer has the money to pay. The stock was trading around $211 when the Investing.com article was published, down about 0.6%. So the market didn’t treat this financing as a bullish event on its own.
The flip side: neoclouds under pressure
“Neoclouds” rent out AI computing power. CoreWeave, Nebius and IREN are the best-known publicly traded ones. Their business model runs on debt. According to BeInCrypto, CoreWeave’s cost of debt hit a record just as SpaceX was raising its $40 billion.
Some caveats. Musk is also a competitor of these companies: SpaceX itself rents out part of its computing capacity to third parties, and investor Jim Chanos has already called it “the world’s largest neocloud.” His prediction is an opinion, not a fact.
What about European investors?
SPCX is listed on the Nasdaq: it is not eligible for the PEA, only for a standard brokerage account (compte-titres). The neoclouds mentioned are U.S. stocks too. Access therefore goes through a broker that offers U.S. markets, or through UCITS thematic ETFs. This edition is for information only and does not constitute advice.
Sources:
- Musk says SpaceX raised $40 bln in debt, warns of neocloud collapse (Investing.com via Yahoo Finance)
- SpaceX secures $40B in financing for GPUs (Fox Business)
- Elon Musk Says 200+ AI Cloud Firms Face Wipeout (BeInCrypto)
- SpaceX seeks $40 billion in debt led by Apollo, FT says (investinglive)
- Nebius CEO admits neocloud financing has tightened (Stocktwits)
JPMorgan upgrades Unitree to “overweight”: the Chinese robot maker rallies again
On Monday, October 26, JPMorgan upgraded Unitree Robotics by two notches, from “underweight” to “overweight.” The stock jumped about 11%, according to Investing.com. A sharp reversal, just weeks after a very cautious call from the same bank.
Key points:
- JPMorgan’s new price target: 995 yuan, up from 300 previously, according to Investing.com.
- The stock gained nearly 11% to 693.50 yuan, a two-month high. Sources differ: other reports put the gain at 9% to 16%.
- The cited trigger: the World Physical AI Conference in Hangzhou, where CEO Wang Xingxing shortened the timeline for a breakthrough to one or two years, versus as many as ten years suggested before.
- JPMorgan raised its sales forecasts and assumes a 10% to 20% global market share in 2028 and 2030.
A stock that had fallen hard
Unitree debuted on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (STAR Market) on August 19, at 150.8 yuan. According to data reported in early October, the stock had dropped back to 450.4 yuan on September 30, about 59% below its peak. At that point, JPMorgan considered the valuation excessive, at roughly 46 times estimated 2027 sales.
So in three weeks, the bank went from a 300-yuan target to 995 yuan. Nothing suggests the company’s fundamentals changed that fast: the stated reason is mostly a shift in sentiment about how quickly physical AI will be adopted. Analysts also say the sector’s bottleneck is moving from AI reasoning to real-world applications.
Demos that aren’t always flawless
The Hangzhou conference also produced some less flattering footage. Moneycontrol reports that a Unitree robot botched a “kung fu” flip in public, and TechNode that the new H2-X lost a leg during a demo. Unitree also unveiled a “bodyguard” robot derived from its H2 platform.
Access for Europeans
Unitree is listed in mainland China: no PEA, and direct access is complicated. Robotics thematic ETFs, some of them in UCITS format, are the simplest way to get exposure. Educational information, not advice.
Sources:
- Unitree Robotics shares jump after a double upgrade from JPMorgan (Investing.com France)
- Why is Unitree Robotics stock soaring today? (Investing.com France)
- Unitree Robotics shares surge on JPMorgan double-upgrade (Investing.com)
- Unitree Surges 460% in Trading Debut (China Money Network)
Chips: the worst session since June, but Nvidia insists every gigawatt is worth more
On October 22, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) fell 6.7%, its worst session since June 23. Over the weekend, two signals added nuance: a pitch from Nvidia on the value of a gigawatt of compute, and data on GPU rental prices.
Key points:
- On October 22, Lam Research lost 12%, AMD 8%, Marvell 9% and Micron 6%, according to The Motley Fool.
- Lam reported record revenue of $8.22 billion but warned that supply constraints (clean rooms, parts) will limit its shipments through 2027.
- Nvidia says one gigawatt of AI capacity represents about $40 billion in potential sales with Vera Rubin, versus about $25 billion with Grace Blackwell.
- According to Stocktwits, a16z data shows GPU rental prices rising, even for older chips.
Why good news sent the stocks lower
Lam Research is the clearest example. Its results were a record, but the company says it won’t be able to meet all the demand. For an investor, “more demand than supply” is a good underlying sign. But it can also slow shipments, and therefore near-term sales. That day, the market mostly focused on the second reading.
The backdrop matters too. Worries about AI players’ debt, covered in today’s first story, make stocks across the supply chain jumpier at the slightest warning.
Nvidia’s number: $40 billion per gigawatt
On its August earnings call, Nvidia gave ballpark sales figures per gigawatt: about $18 billion for Hopper, $25 billion for Grace Blackwell, $40 billion for Vera Rubin, a 60% jump. The argument: the full platform does more computing with the same electricity. Since power is the bottleneck, a gigawatt “earns” Nvidia more even if the customer doesn’t add power plants.
Read that figure as a sales opportunity, not firm orders. For the quarter ended July 26, Nvidia reported $96.2 billion in revenue, up 106% year over year, according to The Motley Fool.
What about Europe?
Nvidia, AMD, Micron and Lam Research are listed in the U.S.: no direct PEA eligibility. UCITS semiconductor ETFs provide access through a PEA or a standard brokerage account, depending on the fund. For information only, not advice.
Sources:
- Chip Stocks to Buy After Their Worst Day Since June (The Motley Fool)
- Jensen Huang Says Nvidia’s Next-Gen Vera Rubin Chips Will Generate $40 Billion in Revenue per Gigawatt (The Motley Fool)
- NVDA Stock Ticks Higher Overnight: a16z Data Shows GPU Rental Prices Rising (Stocktwits)
Starlink in Ukraine: Musk and Kyiv contradict each other, a risk to SpaceX’s image
A public dispute pits Elon Musk against Ukraine over the Ukrainian military’s use of Starlink. For SpaceX investors, it’s a reminder: part of the company’s business depends on political and military decisions.
Key points:
- Musk claims on X that Ukrainian forces were using the service for offensive strikes, and that the loophole was closed last week.
- He adds that SpaceX “simply enforced its terms” once they were circumvented, and that Starshield, the military version, is controlled by the U.S. government.
- Kyiv disputes this. An adviser to Volodymyr Zelensky says the civilian service cannot be used for such strikes.
- According to Ukraine, speed limits imposed without warning hampered drone interception. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry says full access has been restored.
What’s established, and what isn’t
The established fact: technical restrictions did disrupt drone operations, and access has been restored, according to the outlets cited. The rest is disputed. Who decided on those limits? Musk points to the U.S. military and the White House for Starshield. According to several outlets, U.S. officials say they didn’t request them. We can’t settle it.
The issue isn’t new. Back in early 2026, Ukraine had contacted SpaceX about Russian drones using Starlink, and Poland had talked about looking for other providers.
The link to the market
Starlink is a revenue engine for SpaceX, which has been public since June. A government customer that doubts the service’s reliability may look for alternatives. In fact, The Wall Street Journal ran a headline about U.S. allies seeking to escape “SpaceX’s orbit.” Bloomberg, for its part, points to doubts about Starlink that are benefiting SpaceX’s competitors. These articles are analysis, not revenue figures.
SPCX is not eligible for the PEA. For information only, not advice.
Sources:
- Ukraine disputes Elon Musk’s claim that its military violated Starlink terms (CNBC)
- Ukraine says its military did not violate Starlink terms (CBC)
- Musk accuses Ukraine of violating Starlink’s terms of service (CNN)
- Elon Musk says SpaceX closed Ukraine Starlink ‘loophole’ (NBC News)
Edition prepared by our monitoring agent (data and sources as of Monday, October 26, 2026), reviewed in line with our editorial policy. General information, not investment advice: investing carries a risk of capital loss.