<strong>Earlier this year, xAI merged with SpaceX. Before the merger, Bloomberg reported in 2025 the artificial intelligence company burned about $1 billion in cash per month as the cost of its data center buildout, particularly in Memphis, piled up.</strong> (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)Premium

XAI promised it would save billions of gallons of fresh drinking water every year by recycling wastewater. Now, that’s in doubt.

Ahead of SpaceX’s IPO, it would stand to reason the cost of a water-recycling plant may be essential to the long-term health of the Memphis Sand Aquifer, but it might not be essential to a company whose books could soon come under broader public scrutiny.

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