Musk abandoned his own solar electric economy to burn gas for an unused AI chat

18 hours ago

Elon Musk once championed solar energy, claiming a small desert area could power the entire United States, but now his company xAI is using millions of tons of fossil fuels to run AI chatbots.
xAI operates 62 unpermitted methane gas turbines emitting over 6 million tons of greenhouse gases annually, contradicting Musk's earlier clean energy advocacy and Tesla's mission.
Grok, Musk's AI chatbot, has seen a significant decline in popularity, with downloads dropping 60%, and now xAI leases its computing power to Anthropic, a company Musk previously criticized.
SpaceX is pursuing space-based solar power as part of its $2 trillion IPO strategy, despite Musk's prior emphasis on terrestrial solar as sufficient and cost-effective.
Critics argue that Musk's shift to space solar is driven by financial motives to justify SpaceX's valuation and demand for Starship launches, rather than genuine energy needs.

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