Musk Warns AI Boom Risks Global Power Shortage

Speaking at the Bosch Connected World conference on 27 August, Tesla and SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk warned that the rapid expansion of artificial-intelligence applications is outstripping the world’s ability to supply electricity and key grid components such as power transformers. Current production, he said, will be unable to meet demand that is "multiplying by a factor of ten every six months," creating a bottleneck that could stall technological progress and impose economic costs across industries. Musk urged governments, utilities and technology companies to coordinate investments in generation capacity and grid infrastructure, arguing that piecemeal efforts by individual corporations will not avert what he called an "invisible drought" of energy. He added that while resources can be scaled, societies should also address declining birth rates and other long-term risks. Reiterating themes he has voiced for more than a decade, Musk said humanity remains "stewards of life" on Earth and should accelerate efforts to become a multi-planetary species to protect biodiversity from potential cataclysmic events. "A future where we are a spacefaring civilization is infinitely more exciting than one where we are not," he said.