Thaddeus Preston

SpaceX did something on November 4 that most companies building AI infrastructure never bother to do. It sent its own people into an elementary school auditorium in Cochise, Arizona, put the numbers on the table and took questions from a packed room. Riley Trettel, who leads energy and supercomputer development at SpaceX, said it plainly: "SpaceX is the owner, and with approval, will be the builder and the owner of the project long term." Then he laid out what the county gets. Up to 40% off residential power bills for Sulphur Springs co-op members for the life of the project. $3.6 billion in new power lines paid by SpaceX and handed to the co-op, which takes on no debt. $30 to $100 million a year in new property tax, with a 20% cut in everyone else's county property taxes. Enough one-time sales tax to pay off the county jail bond. Dry cooling, so the whole campus uses about as much water as 20 to 30 homes. No gas turbines on site. Up to $50 billion invested and about 1,000 permanent jobs. On the latest All-In, one of the hosts brought up the video of that night. "These two very bright, earnest people from SpaceX trying to explain how they're going to reduce electricity cost by 40%. They don't use water. They'll reduce property taxes by 20%." About Riley and Katie: "Good SpaceX employees. They should be proud of how they conducted themselves." They were shouted over from the first slide. Months of headlines about data centers draining aquifers and spiking bills did that work before anyone walked in. Some residents stayed after the presentation to tell SpaceX they want it there. The county's planning and zoning hearing is December 9.