Musk flags China's power capacity as AI demand strains global grids
Elon Musk said China's electricity generation has overtaken the combined output of the US, Europe and India, and could grow further as AI demand rises.
Tesla and SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk has pointed to China's expanding electricity generation capacity and its implications for the development of artificial intelligence worldwide, in an interview with China Central Television.
Speaking ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's departure for a state visit to the United States, Musk said China's power output could continue to grow as demand for computing capacity and electricity rises.
"It's just a statement of fact that China, I think like earlier this year, China passed the electricity output of the United States, Europe and India combined, and continuing to increase significantly," Musk said.
He added that if China were to reach the same GDP electricity output as the United States, which he considers likely, its electricity production would rise from roughly three times the US level to about four times — a figure he said would be proportionate to the difference in population.
Musk had earlier raised concerns about shortages in computing power and electricity at the G20 Research and Innovation Ministers' Meeting in early September, while noting China's strength in power infrastructure.
The remarks place the scale of China's energy base at the centre of the global race to build the computing infrastructure that underpins artificial intelligence.