Elon Musk’s recent activation of his Memphis Supercluster, touted as the world’s fastest AI data center, equipped with a staggering 100,000 liquid-cooled NVIDIA H100 AI GPUs, has sparked curiosity about its power requirements. AI and semiconductor analyst Dylan Patel, in a recent X post, has raised eyebrows, suggesting that Musk’s current power supply might not be sufficient to run his ambitious project.
Patel points out that the Memphis Supercluster currently draws only 7MW from the grid, enough to power a mere 4000 of the H100 AI GPUs. While a pending agreement with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) promises an additional 50MW by August 1st, Patel highlights the delay in the construction of the 150MW substation on the xAI site, which is not expected to be complete until Q4 2024.
Through a detailed analysis of satellite imagery, Patel unveils a surprising revelation: the Memphis Supercluster is currently being powered by 14 VoltaGrid mobile generators connected to 4 mobile substations. Each generator, capable of generating 2.5MW of power, contributes to a total of 35MW generated from these portable units. Combined with the 8MW drawn from the grid, the data center currently operates on 43MW of power. This amount is sufficient to run 32,000 of the NVIDIA H100 AI GPUs, taking into account the power requirements of other components such as cooling systems, CPUs, motherboards, networking infrastructure, and more.
Musk’s goal of reaching 50MW by August, pending approval from the TVA, would allow the supercluster to operate 64,000 of the NVIDIA H100 AI GPUs. However, Patel emphasizes that to fully utilize the entire 100,000 GPU capacity, Musk would need a whopping 155MW of power, significantly exceeding the current power supply.
The revelation of the Memphis Supercluster’s reliance on mobile generators highlights the substantial power demands of such a massive AI project. While Musk’s ambition to create a world-leading AI data center is clear, the question remains: how will he overcome the formidable power challenges and fully harness the potential of his Memphis Supercluster?
