Elon Musk’s xAI supercomputer, Colossus, has reached full operational capacity as the first phase of the Memphis Supercluster project comes to completion. The system is now connected to the local substation and draws 150 megawatts (MW) of electricity from Memphis Light, Gas and Water and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), along with an additional 150 MW from Tesla Megapack batteries, which provide backup power. This level of energy consumption is roughly equivalent to the needs of 300,000 homes.
The cluster originally came online in July 2024 with 100,000 Nvidia H100 accelerators, installed in just 19 days — a process that would normally take years. Due to the rush, the system was initially powered by gas turbine generators without a grid connection. While official reports cited 14 generators rated at 2.5 MW each, local residents claimed there were more than 35 in operation.
With the transition to primary grid power, some generators have been decommissioned. About 60% of the TVA’s electricity comes from renewable sources, including hydro, solar, wind, and nuclear. However, the temporary energy infrastructure won’t be fully phased out until a second substation comes online in fall 2025, boosting the total available power to 300 MW.
As of February 2025, the number of accelerators has doubled to 200,000, with Musk aiming to scale that up to 1 million in the future. This will require even greater energy capacity, raising concerns over whether the regional grid can handle such demands without impacting local residents.
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