Major AI Infrastructure Milestone: Tesla's next-generation Cortex 2 is set to become a colossal 500 MW data center, with operations expected to launch in 2026. The announcement came from Elon Musk during a recent podcast discussion.

What's particularly striking is the scale of infrastructure buildout happening at Giga Texas. The facility is undergoing rapid expansion of electrical capacity, installing massive Megapacks, and deploying transformers to handle both Cortex 1 operations and the incoming Cortex 2 deployment. This isn't just an incremental upgrade—we're talking about a completely new tier of computational power.

The implications are significant. A 500 MW data center represents serious commitment to AI compute resources. For context, this level of infrastructure investment signals where the industry believes computational bottlenecks will exist. The energy requirements alone underscore why data center location and power infrastructure have become critical competitive factors in the AI race.

The timeline matters too. If 2026 delivery holds, we could see major shifts in AI service availability and capability across multiple sectors.