If you believe everything you read about Elon Musk, you might think the world's richest man has lost his way. Meanwhile, as his name bounces between controversy and media spectacle, he has quietly placed a crucial pawn in the race to artificial intelligence. And his new data center could be the move of the century.
We think we know the modus operandi of Elon Musk from his couch. His provocative tweets, his shocking statements, even his memes on X fool us into thinking we have a clear understanding of his “clinical picture”. In the comments on social media, luminaries like Fragolina56 or Checcone81 call him crazy, stupid. They give him unsolicited lessons in economics. We are all distracted by his latest media spectacle and in the meantime he, the most unpredictable billionaire on the planet, is weaving a web that could change the course of technological history. Yet it is nothing “occult”, on the contrary: it is quite visible.
The Memphis Giant
In the heart of Tennessee, more or less in the birthplace of Elvis Preastley, a giant of steel and silicon has come to life. It is not a power plant, not a traditional factory. So what is it? It is the new data center of XAI, Musk's latest creation in the field of artificial intelligence. A technological monster powered by 100.000 GPUs that whir incessantly, day and night, processing data at a speed that puts its competitors to shame.
“Our fundamental competitiveness depends on being faster than any other AI company. That’s the only way we’ll catch up,” Musk wrote in X.
Mark this down in your mind: “catching up” is the key word. Because Musk knows he’s behind in the AI race, and he’s doing everything he can to catch up.
Datacenter, the race against time
121 days. That was enough for Musk to build what could actually become “the world’s largest AI datacenter” (to quote him directly). A titanic structure that currently hosts 100.000 GPUs operational, with another 100.000 on the way. To give you an idea, the Microsoft datacenter initially launched by OpenAI had 10.000 (now there will be many more).
But Musk didn’t stop there. He broke rules and regulations in his frantic race to catch up with OpenAI, the company he founded and now bitterly detests.
Crazy and desperate? Oh yes… Oh no.
Here's an example of Musk's insane genius (or mad genius): instead of waiting for permits for electrical connections, has installed 20 natural gas turbines capable of powering 50.000 homes. Without even asking for permission. A move that has raised concerns about air pollution and a ton of bad press (as if his political preferences hadn't already brought him that).
But Musk doesn't seem to care. He probably calculated that by the time it takes to shut down his turbines, he will have already obtained the energy he needs through the traditional grid. And probably, as has happened in other cases, he was right.
Datacenter: The “Musk Method” vs. the “Altman Method”
Compare Musk's approach with that of Sam altman, CEO of OpenAI. While Altman tries to build an international coalition of governments to support the infrastructure needed for the giant data centers of the future, Musk is acting alone, fast and sharp.
And this aggressive strategy is starting to worry the big players in the sector. According to Recent Reports di The Information, Altman fears that Musk may soon have access to more computing power than OpenAI and Microsoft combined. And then what?
The risk and the reward
Sure, Musk's move is risky. There's no guarantee that building data centers this size will produce magical results. But if there's one thing we've learned about Musk over the years, it's that he doesn't give up easily.
“I don't think he's necessarily ahead,” he said. Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and OpenAI, speaking at the AI Summit The Information.
But Musk, again, doesn't seem to care. He's already bet his entire fortune on PayPal, and then PayPal's fortune on SpaceX. And now he's betting everything on AI.
Datacenter, the future at stake
If xAI could create an AI model close to “General Artificial Intelligence”, it could put all the pieces in the right place. Powering, for example, the autonomous driving capabilities of the Tesla car. Or train Optimus, the humanoid robot developed by the company.
The Neuralink, Musk's company that develops experimental brain implants, could benefit from the AI it's building in Memphis.
And then there is Grok, xAI's "free and irreverent" chatbot but still a bit behind its competitors like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. With exclusive access to X content and a serious brain behind it, it could soon become a serious contender.
Androids, autonomous vehicles, neural implants, space flights, social media, underground tunnels, and the “world’s strongest” supercomputer: all of these things in the hands of one person. And to think that Trottoletto12 thinks he’s incapable of even tying his own shoelaces.
The last time, or the umpteenth time
Of course, like any effort of such ambition, it could fail. Musk may never catch up with OpenAI. His plan could collapse miserably. And if his AI bet fails, his empire could crumble.
But he could also succeed. And while no one in the anti-Musk tribe wants to hear it, he might have the last laugh. Would it be the first time?
