Meta steals a tactic from Tesla and builds data centers in tents

Meta 效仿特斯拉，开始在“帐篷”里搭建数据中心

Just when you thought the AI data center boom couldn’t get any crazier, Meta has gone and built data centers in tents. The strategy appears to borrow in equal parts from Tesla and xAI. 就在你以为人工智能（AI）数据中心的繁荣已经足够疯狂时，Meta 竟然开始在帐篷里搭建数据中心了。这一策略似乎同时借鉴了特斯拉（Tesla）和 xAI 的做法。

In a bid to cut construction time in half, Meta has built six tents — or “rapid deployment structures” as the company describes them — outside of New Albany, Ohio, according to Michael Thomas, founder of Cleanview, which tracks data center deployments. Thomas’ findings aren’t totally new. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg spoke to The Information last year about his plan to use weatherproof tents to house the company’s multi-gigawatt data centers. But Thomas’ images and review of local permits showcase the speed of construction and scale of the project. 据追踪数据中心部署情况的 Cleanview 创始人迈克尔·托马斯（Michael Thomas）称，为了将施工时间缩短一半，Meta 在俄亥俄州新奥尔巴尼（New Albany）郊外搭建了六个帐篷，公司将其称为“快速部署结构”。托马斯的发现并非完全新鲜事，Meta 首席执行官马克·扎克伯格（Mark Zuckerberg）去年曾向《The Information》透露，他计划使用防风雨帐篷来容纳公司数吉瓦（gigawatt）级别的数据中心。但托马斯提供的图片和对当地许可证的审查，展示了该项目惊人的建设速度和规模。

According to city permits reviewed by Thomas, Meta started building five 125,000-square-foot tents between April and June. The satellite images he shared in his post on X show the structures have all been built. The use of tents is reminiscent of those Tesla built in the parking lot of its Fremont, California factory when it was rushing to roll out the Model 3. The site is also powered by 200 megawatts of modular gas turbines nearby, a tactic popularized by competitor xAI. 根据托马斯查阅的城市许可证，Meta 在 4 月至 6 月间开始建造五个面积为 12.5 万平方英尺的帐篷。他在 X 上分享的卫星图像显示，这些建筑均已完工。这种使用帐篷的做法让人想起特斯拉在加州弗里蒙特工厂停车场赶工生产 Model 3 时所搭建的临时设施。该场地还由附近 200 兆瓦的模块化燃气轮机供电，这一策略正是由竞争对手 xAI 所推广的。

Inside the tents, AI chips, likely worth billions of dollars, will go about their business. Meta is building dozens of massive tents at campuses across the US, sticking billions of dollars of chips inside, and powering them with off-grid turbines. The AI race has officially entered its Mad Max phase. 在帐篷内部，价值可能高达数十亿美元的 AI 芯片将在此运行。Meta 正在全美各地的园区内建造数十个巨大的帐篷，将价值数十亿美元的芯片置于其中，并利用离网燃气轮机为其供电。AI 竞赛已正式进入了“疯狂麦克斯”（Mad Max）阶段。

The tents have sprung up as Meta has struggled to release its AI models to developers. A recent report in The Wall Street Journal found that Meta’s latest model, Muse Spark, is complete, but the APIs that developers rely on to access it have been repeatedly delayed. Meta has said it intends to spend up to $145 billion on data centers and other capital expenditures. Wall Street hasn’t liked the sound of that, with Meta’s stock trading down 5% this year. Putting AI chips in tents is one way to trim the bill. 这些帐篷的出现正值 Meta 在向开发者发布 AI 模型方面遇到困难之际。《华尔街日报》最近的一篇报道指出，Meta 的最新模型 Muse Spark 虽然已经完成，但开发者赖以访问该模型的 API 却一再推迟发布。Meta 此前表示，计划在数据中心和其他资本支出上投入高达 1450 亿美元。华尔街对此并不买账，Meta 的股价今年已下跌了 5%。将 AI 芯片放入帐篷，或许正是削减开支的一种方式。

TechCrunch has reached out to Meta for comment and will update this article if it responds. TechCrunch 已联系 Meta 请求置评，如有回复，我们将更新本文。