In today’s newsletter I discuss the growing AI data center NIMBY argument, Walt Disney's ABC sues the FCC, Elon Musk might get all his Tesla stock options if SpaceX acquires his company, Rick Ross spent $700K to outfit his Gulfstream G550 private jet with Starlink, Residential real estate hit its lowest point in a decade, Amazon is rolling out drone service to 500 cities by the end of 2026, Jason Kelce doesn’t give a piss about AI data centers, and this might be Cristiano Ronaldo's last year playing soccer

Let’s get into it!

There’s a massive grassroots resistance that is growing across the country as everyday citizens push back against the construction of AI data centers that have been spreading into suburbs and rural communities, triggering some spicy neighborhood debates about energy reliability, water depletion, and utility bills.

What started as small localized zoning disputes has quickly transformed into a national NIMBY pushback against AI data center hyperscalers like Oracle, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon’s AWS who are building out their AI capacity for companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, ordinary residents, local farmers, and community organizers are demanding an immediate halt to new developments until utilities and tech companies address the real economic costs that are being placed on regular consumers like you and me.

Here in Upstate New York, where I live, Governor Kathy Hochul recently signed an executive order placing a one-year moratorium on new hyperscale AI data centers using 50 megawatts or more here in Upstate New York. The move makes New York the first state in the nation to enact such a ban. State officials aim to shield consumers from paying for the infrastructure through higher energy bills.

The scale of capital pouring into AI data centers in just the last few years since the AI boom began has been staggering. It’s estimated that the total AI industry investment in data centers could exceed $1 trillion dollars by the end of 2026. The largest tech companies in the AI industry are planning to spend more than a combined $725 billion dollars on computing infrastructure and server facilities:

Wall Street institutions and cloud titans are financing these AI data center real estate build-outs at record levels. Private equity giants like Blackstone have poured tens of billions of dollars into data center developers like QTS, competing with infrastructure giants like Digital Realty and Equinix. The biggest tenants filling these halls include OpenAI, which is estimated to generate more than $40 billion dollars in annual revenue in 2026, and Anthropic, which brings in as much as $120 billion dollars. Tech giants like Facebook, Microsoft, AWS, and Google are locking up electrical capacity with contracts worth over $800 billion dollars across public power grids.

Local communities are responding with aggressive legal challenges and strict construction bans across the country:

Homeowners continue to sound the alarm over grid capacity prices that have surged tenfold, leading to warnings that household electricity bills could jump significantly in the coming years if the AI data center build out continues unabated.

The AI data center NIMBY movement is showing that the rapid race to build AI data centers and infrastructure is no longer going to just get a free pass from local communities. As tech companies prepare to pour hundreds of billions of dollars into massive AI data centers and power substations, there’s increased pushback from the towns and cities that will be paying the price for their AI revolution, and residents aren’t sitting by silently. They’re joining forces to demand greater corporate transparency, fair electricity rates, and real environmental protections, and you should too!

Elon Musk might be about to pass go and collect up to $824 billion dollars if SpaceX and Tesla merge. Under the original terms of his performance award approved by Tesla shareholders, Elon Musk could unlock the maximum 424 million shares when Tesla reaches a $8.5 trillion dollar market capitalization, alongside other aggressive milestones including delivering 20 million electric vehicles a year and deploying 1 million autonomous robotaxis. A change of control clause buried within the agreement stipulates that if Tesla is acquired, those operational hurdles are automatically treated as fulfilled, and Elon Musk will be awarded his stock options in full.

Is it a conflict of interest since Elon Musk owns and controls both SpaceX and Tesla? Yea, probably, but try telling that to both company’s shareholders who are some of the biggest fanboys of their idol Elon Musk!

I’m a big geek for all things Marvel, so when the trailer for Marvel’s new show ‘VisionQuest’ dropped I rushed to check it out. ‘VisionQuest’ is the 3rd in the ‘WandaVision’ trilogy, which also includes ‘WandaVision” and ‘Agatha All Along’. ‘VisionQuest’ debuts on October 14 on Disney+.

Rick Ross, whose real name is William Roberts, just dropped $700,000 dollars to install a high speed Starlink Aviation internet satellite system on a custom black and gold Gulfstream G550 private jet. The SpaceX owned Starlink technology requires mounting an electronically steered phased array aero terminal on the upper fuselage of the aircraft (sounds kinda technical and expensive I guess), routing specialized power and gigabit ethernet wiring directly through pressurized bulkheads, and obtaining an FAA Supplemental Type Certificate. Technicians must relocate existing cabin power systems and avionics hardware inside the airframe during the retrofit, linking the jet to thousands of low Earth Starlink satellites to achieve latency as low as 20 milliseconds and download speeds up to 1 gigabit per second at 50,000 feet. The core Starlink hardware package retails for $200,000 dollars, with custom aerospace engineering, structural labor, and regulatory certification pushing total setup costs toward $500,000 dollars alongside an ongoing service plan that costs $20,000 dollars per month, or $240,000 dollars per year.

But never fear, Rick Ross can afford it! Rick Ross has a net worth estimated to be around $180 million dollars, which he’s generated through his multi-platinum music sales and the record label Maybach Music Group that he owns, as well as through all of his real estate holdings, car collection, and the 25 Wingstop restaurant franchises he owns.

So it’s clear that Rick Ross places a premium on staying connected with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet while cruising at 50,000 feet in his customer $61 million dollar Gulfstream G550.

The Walt Disney Company has filed a federal First Amendment lawsuit against the FCC after regulators launched an early review that threatens to revoke the broadcast licenses across 8 major ABC owned television stations. The legal challenge follows mounting regulatory pressure from the current administration, where FCC Chairman Brendan Carr warned that broadcast networks could lose access to public airwaves over editorial disputes and corporate policies. A company’s editorial decisions and corporate policies sure do seem to fall under their First Amendment rights if you ask me! I’m rooting for Disney & ABC in the fight all day, everyday!

Residential real estate in the United States is on track for its weakest sales volume in over a decade, with total existing home sales projected to fall to roughly 4.7 million units. High borrowing costs are keeping the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate locked near 6.5%, driving home owner’s monthly payments above $2,500 dollars. The national median existing home price is currently around $416,900 dollars, while the broader residential housing sector is valued at over $47 trillion dollars. A slow down in the residential real estate market has the potential to cut into the estimated $100 billion dollars in annual real estate commissions, title fees, and mortgage origination revenue that the industry counts on to survive. It’s a tough time to be a real estate agent!

Amazon is close to rolling out an expanded drone delivery service across the U.S. with plans to reach nearly 500 cities before the end of 2026. The initiative builds on a program originally launched by Jeff Bezos to transport packages to customer’s backyards in less than 30 minutes. FAA approvals for the program have taken more than a decade, but now the commercial drone delivery market is worth roughly $3 billion dollars a year, with projections pushing it to around $18 billion dollars a year by 2036. What’s driving this demand? Customers never-ending need for their packages as instantly as possible!

I’m just gonna drop this Jason Kelce nugget here for your entertainment with no societal comment whatsoever. 😉

Cristiano Ronaldo could be entering the last year of his soccer career as he recently hinted in a Vogue interview that retirement might be close, saying "This is probably my last year of football, and I want to leave a spectacular legacy."

Cristiano Ronaldo has amassed over 950 career goals while generating career earnings topping $2 billion dollars across over 1,200 professional matches appearances for his clubs and Portugal. He has a net worth north of $1.2 billion dollars, and earns roughly $235 million dollars per year playing for Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr soccer team, and that doesn’t even include the $65 million dollars a year he makes from commercial endorsements and sponsorships.

As if one of the world’s luckiest men couldn’t get even luckier, he just married his long term partner Georgina Rodriguez of 10 years and mother of their 5 children. It’s good to be Cristiano Ronaldo!

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The Business Behind The News is written, edited, and published by Chris Thompson.