Update, August 18, 2026: SpaceX’s own site later said it is “also building another Gigabay at Starbase… next to our Starship Starfactory” (SpaceX Updates). Musk has since talked about production far above the original 1,000-a-year figure — treat 1,000 as the 2025 design target, not a guarantee of launches completed.
In November 2025 Elon Musk framed SpaceX’s Gigabay at Starbase, Texas, as a factory for “so many spaceships.” Contemporary reports, including Dallas Express (November 10–11, 2025), described a privately funded building on the order of $250 million and about 700,000 square feet, sized for up to 1,000 Starships a year.
Key facts
- Where: Starbase, Texas, next to existing Starship production — not a new state.
- What: A high-bay production building (press at the time cited ~380 feet tall and tens of millions of cubic feet of volume). Four tower cranes were already on site in November 2025.
- Target: Up to 1,000 Starship vehicles a year if the line works as advertised.
- What it is not: 1,000 orbital launches next calendar year. It is a production-capacity claim.
- Official follow-up: SpaceX later discussed additional Gigabay construction at Starbase on its updates page.
Starbase is shifting from test site to factory
Starbase began as a South Texas test range. Gigabay is the statement that Starship is supposed to be built like a product, not a prototype. Musk called it one of the biggest structures SpaceX would put up and said many ships would be “born” there. Wikipedia’s Starbase entry notes older high-bay structures coming down in 2025 to clear room — consistent with a factory swap, not a second Cape.
Starship’s payload figures in public SpaceX materials (crew and cargo to Earth orbit, Moon, and Mars) are the reason the building is so large. A 1,000-vehicle year would only matter if the vehicles also fly, return, and fly again. That flight-rate problem is separate from pouring the slab.
FAQ
Is Gigabay operating at 1,000 Starships a year now?
No. November 2025 coverage was about construction and a design target. Check SpaceX’s current updates for build status.
Is this the same as Giga Berlin?
No. Giga Berlin builds Tesla cars. Gigabay is a SpaceX Starship plant at Starbase.
Does this change Tesla FSD?
No. It is a SpaceX manufacturing story. Starship is also the launcher Tesla-adjacent coverage ties to Starlink V3 mass.
Related: Musk on Starlink V3 orbital compute
