Comment by burnerRhodov3
20 hours ago
At this point, you can get the chips you just can't get the power. So in typical elon fashion, he just "solves" the bottleneck. Long term, no, that is not the strat. Thus the pivot to space.
20 hours ago
At this point, you can get the chips you just can't get the power. So in typical elon fashion, he just "solves" the bottleneck. Long term, no, that is not the strat. Thus the pivot to space.
What happens when he sucks the natural gas pipes dry in the peak cold of a Texas winter and thousands of people die to keep xAI burning?
I don't know why I'm responding to this, because I suspect this isn't being argued in good faith, but let's actually look at the numbers.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), in 2024:
- *Texas natural gas production:* 27.5 billion cubic feet per day. - *Texas natural gas consumption:* 14.6 billion cubic feet per day.
So Texas produces nearly twice as much natural gas as it consumes domestically.
Natural gas contains approximately 1,025 BTU per cubic foot. Assuming 50% efficiency in a natural gas power plant, and 1 kWh equals 3,412 BTU.
27.5 − 14.6 = *12.9 billion cubic feet per day.*
12.9 billion × 1,025 BTU × 50% efficiency ÷ 3,412 BTU/kWh ÷ 24 hours = *approximately 80.7 GW of continuous electrical generation.*
That's the equivalent of more than EIGHT 10-GW AI computing campuses operating around the clock.
Lastly, a significant amount of natural gas is produced alongside crude oil. When producers can't economically capture or transport that gas, some of it is burned off through a process called flaring. Those flames you sometimes see at oil and gas facilities are an example, although refinery flares also serve important safety functions.
Seems like you just like to say snarky things about Elon, but can't be asked to do any actual math.
North Dakota "solved" flaring by making it illegal and fined companies for flaring just a bit more than it would take companies to capture the flared off gas, thus making it economical to capture it.
We'll be forgiven for expecting the new overlords will take over in the bang of boiling oceans, as we miss the significant whimper of a cold Texan winter.