Space Exploration Technologies Corp. CEO Elon Musk has reaffirmed talks of Tesla Inc.‘s Optimus becoming the first-ever “Von Neumann” machine as SpaceX unveils Louisiana Starbase spaceport.

SpaceX Plans First Starbase Louisiana Launch in 2029

In a post on X on Tuesday, influencer Sawyer Merritt shared some concept pictures of the Starbase in Louisiana, saying that SpaceX plans to begin construction of the “$100+ billion spaceport” near Pecan Island, Louisiana, next year, with the “first Starship launch from the new site planned for 2029.”

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Merritt said the spaceport will be a “self-sustaining spaceport” with “propellant production, power generation, deep-water shipping capabilities, vehicle processing facilities, and an airport.” The company says the project will create 3,000 jobs.

SpaceX has just officially announced Starbase, Louisiana, a new $100+ billion spaceport in South Louisiana near Pecan Island.

Construction starts in 2027, with the first Starship launch from the new site planned for 2029.

Starbase, Louisiana will be built to support thousands… pic.twitter.com/uacCLKg7CG

— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 25, 2026

Merritt also said SpaceX now has 17 Starship launch pads under development, which could “eventually have a combined launch capacity of 15,000+ launches per year.” Notably, Musk had earlier predicted that the company would target 10,000 launches annually for the Starship rocket by the end of the decade.

Including Starbase, Louisiana, @SpaceX now has 17 Starship launch pads under development. Those 17 pads will eventually have a combined launch capacity of 15,000+ launches per year, more than twice the total number of rocket launches in all of history. pic.twitter.com/f7VJrMUUKP

— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 25, 2026

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Elon Musk Touts Von Neumann Machine

Musk, in response to Mach33 CEO Aaron Burnett, who said that the Louisiana launch site was a “critical piece of infrastructure” for SpaceX’s StarMind constellation of dedicated orbital AI compute, agreed with his take. “Megatons to orbit & beyond is a critical piece of the K2 puzzle,” the CEO said.

He also shared that other crucial elements of the K2, or a Kardashev Scale 2 civilization—a civilization that can harness the entire energy output of its host star—were “massive amounts of solar cell production, AI chip production, millions of humanoid (general purpose) robots and a mass driver on the Moon.”