Musk fires up his power-hungry supercomputer, surprising his neighbors
In a sprawling factory in South Memphis, Tennessee, Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI recently turned on its new “Colossus” supercomputer. Powered by 100,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs, the supercomputing cluster was completed in just 122 days, according to Musk.
But that breakneck speed was achieved by cutting corners and keeping local community leaders in the dark, according to a new report by NPR.
The small community in which the factory sits was surprised to learn about their new power-hungry neighbor. Utility officials signed NDAs, leaving civic groups and the local city council unaware of the plans for the site.
The new xAI supercomputing cluster is currently consuming 1 million gallons of the community’s drinking water per day, and 50 megawatts of power from the local utility, which it is augmenting with 18 mobile methane-powered gas turbines without obtaining any permits, according to the report.
With plans to double the size of the cluster, Musk’s factory is now facing increased scrutiny by local officials and the EPA.
The small community in which the factory sits was surprised to learn about their new power-hungry neighbor. Utility officials signed NDAs, leaving civic groups and the local city council unaware of the plans for the site.
The new xAI supercomputing cluster is currently consuming 1 million gallons of the community’s drinking water per day, and 50 megawatts of power from the local utility, which it is augmenting with 18 mobile methane-powered gas turbines without obtaining any permits, according to the report.
With plans to double the size of the cluster, Musk’s factory is now facing increased scrutiny by local officials and the EPA.
