'AI instead of canned goods'...Musk to build data center at former Spam factory

[Financial News] Tesla CEO Elon Musk is dramatically accelerating construction of a massive artificial intelligence (AI) supercomputer complex in Memphis, Tennessee, in the United States.
On the 2nd (local time), Business Insider reported that Musk had recently said on his X account that he was adding a former Spam cannery and a shooting range at a former police station to expand the AI supercomputer complex known as 'Colossus 2.' Musk explained that the Spam site had formerly been a Hormel facility—Hormel produces Spam, the processed-meat brand—and that the other site, named 'Gun Range,' was where a shooting range once owned by the local police department had been located.
He said, "I personally toured the entire Colossus 2 site twice, around midnight and again this morning. The SpaceX team and its contractors are making excellent progress," adding, "The Gun Range site is expected to come online by the end of November, and the Spam site by December."
Vast computing capacity is essential to developing and operating AI systems. To boost the computing capacity of Grok, the AI chatbot from AI startup xAI, Musk first built the Colossus supercomputer in Memphis in 2024, then began construction of the Colossus 2 campus last year to secure additional power.
However, conflicts with local communities have also escalated significantly amid the construction of high-performance AI computing facilities and data centers. Memphis is no exception to residents' opposition to the construction of major infrastructure facilities. Nearby residents have strongly objected, flocking to public hearings, staging protests and organizing petition drives against the plans.
In particular, last April the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) took legal action against xAI and its subsidiary MZX Tech. The NAACP filed suit, alleging that xAI was illegally operating unpermitted methane gas turbines in Southaven, Mississippi, a 20-minute drive from Memphis, to supply power to Colossus 2. Last week, a U.S. federal district court denied a motion by xAI and MZX Tech to dismiss the lawsuit, and the legal battle is expected to continue.
[email protected] Yoon Jae-joon Reporter