Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, has officially broken ground on its $80 million wastewater treatment facility in Memphis, Tennessee. The project aims to reduce strain on the Memphis aquifer by 9% and repurpose 20% of wastewater from the nearby Memphis T.E. Maxson wastewater facility that would otherwise flow back into the Mississippi River.

A major step towards sustainability

City officials, including Councilman J. Ford Canale and Memphis Chamber of Commerce CEO and President Ted Townsend, joined xAI staff at the October 10 ceremony. The project was described as a long-needed solution for the region as it will have a treatment capacity of 13 million gallons daily, which would then be used for industrial cooling use xAI and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). 

This means that the facility will help conserve 5 billion gallons of potable water annually, easing demand on Memphis’ primary water system. At these levels, xAI Memphis noted that its wastewater treatment facility will feature the largest ceramic membrane MBR in the world, using 13,000 membrane modules that collectively span over 900,000 square feet, roughly the size of 16 football fields. 

Construction permits have been secured for the pump station, while the main operations permit from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation remains under review.

A privately funded push

The wastewater treatment facility represents a rare privately funded water reclamation initiative, with xAI covering construction costs, as noted in a Yahoo News report. The company filed preliminary plans through its affiliate CTC Property LLC in 2024, hinting at the startup’s long-term commitment to sustainable infrastructure around its growing Memphis operations. TVA CEO and President Don Moul shared his excitement for the project.

“This is a big day for Memphis, Tennessee. This initiative not only reduces our need to purchase water from MLGW for our nearby Allen Combined Cycle Plant, but it also eases demand on the region’s potable water system. By recycling water for cooling purposes, we’re helping to preserve drinking water for the community and advancing a solution that benefits both the environment and the Greater Memphis area,” he said.

Japan seems to be taking some serious steps to pave the way for the domestic rollout of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system in the country. 

This was hinted at by a decision from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry.

FSD update

As noted in a report from Nikkei, Tesla’s artificial intelligence-powered vehicles are allowed to be retrofitted with a software update that could enable the activation of their self-driving features. These features would be rolled out through an over-the-air (OTA) software update for vehicles that have already been sold to consumers.

Previous reports have indicated that Tesla Japan has started the testing of FSD technology on public roads. At the time, reports indicated that Tesla Japan employees have been conducting the tests, and the company is planning to release its FSD software to consumers in the near future, at least pending compliance with safety standards and guidelines. 

New guidelines

In a comment on X, former Tesla Board Member Hiro Mizuno explained that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry’s decision is no small matter, as it could pave the way for the smooth rollout of features like FSD to Tesla consumers in Japan. 

“The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s decision to allow retrofitting of autonomous driving through software updates is significant. Currently, Tesla is the only manufacturer actively pursuing this, but I had thought that if actual autonomous driving were to begin, it would be impossible to keep up if the approval process had to be repeated for every software update. As a result, this decision will make it easier for all manufacturers to introduce autonomous driving in Japan,” he wrote in a post on X.

The principal mechanical design engineer of the Tesla Robotaxi has provided a rather exciting update about the upcoming all-electric autonomous two-seater. The Tesla engineer shared the update following the one-year anniversary of We, Robot, when Elon Musk took the wraps off the Cybercab and the Robovan. 

Cybercab, one year in

Tesla has done an excellent job keeping the details of the Cybercab under wraps since its unveiling last year. Apart from brief showcases at Tesla stores and sightings at Gigafactory Texas, the Cybercab’s development has been quite a mystery. In recent weeks, however, drone footage from Giga Texas showed the Cybercab being worked on at the factory’s crash testing facility. 

One year is a substantial amount of time, and considering Tesla’s reputation for consistently improving its vehicles well after they are unveiled, developed, and released, expectations were high that the company had also been busy refining the Robotaxi over the past year. This was confirmed by Tesla Cybercab lead engineer Eric E., who noted in a reply on X that the autonomous two-seater has made a lot of progress in the past year.

“It’s sooo good, and way better than it was a year ago as well,” the Tesla engineer wrote in a post on X. 

Cybercab expectations

Elon Musk has been very optimistic about the Cybercab, with the CEO previously stating that the vehicle’s production line would likely resemble a high-speed consumer electronics line instead of a conventional automotive assembly line. Other Tesla executives such as VP of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy and Senior Design Executive Franz von Holzhausen have also shared in interviews that the company is targeting a battery pack under 50 kWh for the vehicle, which should still be able to provide almost 300 miles of real-world range.

Despite its small size, the Cybercab is still very spacious, offering probably the biggest legroom among the company’s current vehicles. Its trunk is also very large enough to fit an enormous amount of cargo. Musk has also mentioned that Tesla should ultimately be able to produce a Cybercab every five seconds.