When Elon Musk's xAI Corporation announced plans to build a new supercomputer for AI in Memphis, it was met with cheers from local political and business leaders and concerns from environmentalists.
The high amount of electricity and water needed to operate and cool the machinery remind many of the challenges the city faces with power outages and long-time stewardship of the aquifer.
But the project also comes with great political potential, as political analyst Otis Sanford points out. Elon Musk, he says, shares similar political beliefs with many in the Republican supermajority state legislature, which could improve the way the city is viewed by Republican lawmakers.
