Elon Musk has predicted that China will surpass the rest of the world in AI computing power, citing the country’s rapid expansion of electricity generation as a key advantage. Speaking in an episode of the "Moonshots with Peter Diamandis" podcast published Tuesday, Musk stated, “China's going to have more power than anyone else and probably will have more chips.” He added that, based on current trends, “China will far exceed the rest of the world in AI compute.” Musk emphasized that the ability to scale electricity production is the primary bottleneck in advancing AI infrastructure. He estimated that China could generate about three times the electricity of the United States by 2026, giving it a massive edge in powering energy-intensive AI data centers. “People are underestimating the difficulty of bringing electricity online,” he said, highlighting that power supply is often the limiting factor in scaling AI systems. While the U.S. has imposed restrictions on China’s access to advanced semiconductors, Musk suggested these limitations may not be decisive in the long run. “China will figure out the chips,” he said, noting that diminishing returns in chip performance at the cutting edge could allow China to catch up even without the most advanced foreign designs. Musk has previously expressed admiration for China’s technological integration, particularly its super app model. In a November episode of the "People by WTF" podcast, he said he wants to transform his social media platform X into “WeChat++,” referencing China’s dominant all-in-one digital ecosystem. His latest remarks come amid growing recognition that energy infrastructure—not just chips or algorithms—will determine the pace of AI development. Global companies are racing to build massive AI data centers, many of which consume power on par with small cities. A November report from Goldman Sachs warned that an electricity shortage could hinder U.S. progress in the AI race, noting that power grid constraints are difficult and slow to resolve. In contrast, China has been steadily expanding its energy capacity. The report projected that by 2030, China could have around 400 gigawatts of spare power—more than three times the total electricity demand expected from data centers worldwide. “We expect China's spare capacity to remain sufficient to accommodate data center power demand growth while supporting other industrial needs,” the analysts wrote. In his annual New Year’s address last week, Chinese leader Xi Jinping highlighted China’s advancements in AI for 2025, stating that the country has deeply integrated science and technology with industry, achieved breakthroughs in domestic chip development, and become one of the fastest-growing innovation economies globally.