As concerns grow over artificial intelligence’s environmental impact, Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) CEO Elon Musk backed Nvidia Corp’s (NASDAQ:NVDA) argument that data centers consume a surprisingly small share of America’s water supply.



<h2>Nvidia Pushes Back On AI Water Consumption Concerns</h2>



On Monday, in a post on X, Nvidia highlighted findings from the Manhattan Institute showing that data centers account for just 0.2% of daily water usage in the U.S., while arguing that advances in cooling technology are dramatically reducing the industry’s water footprint.



The chipmaker said newer AI facilities are increasingly adopting liquid-cooling systems that can significantly reduce or even eliminate the need for water-intensive cooling towers.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div>
<blockquote>Water usage has been a hot topic in the AI data center world, but the numbers may surprise you. According to the Manhattan Institute, data centers use 0.2 percent of daily water usage in the U.S. and that number has dramatically decreased in the past few years due to a new… pic.twitter.com/QnlGrLR5ks— NVIDIA (@nvidia) June 22, 2026</blockquote>
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Musk shared Nvidia’s post on X and responded with a one-word endorsement: “True.”



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div>
<blockquote>True https://t.co/C6HyDKNJKF— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 22, 2026</blockquote>
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According to Nvidia, AI facilities using 45-degree Celsius liquid cooling can rely on dry coolers rather than traditional cooling-tower systems.



This reduces cooling-related water consumption from roughly 2.6 million gallons per megawatt annually to near zero in favorable climates.



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<h2>Rubin AI Systems Aim To Eliminate Cooling Water Use</h2>



In a blog post published Sunday, Nvidia said its upcoming Rubin-generation AI infrastructure will be the company’s first platform to use fully liquid-cooled architecture.



“The NVIDIA DSX reference design for AI factories has zero water consumption,” said Ali Heydari, Nvidia’s director of data center cooling and infrastructure.



Heydari added that dry-cooler-based systems operate as closed loops with “pretty much all water usage” eliminated except in limited circumstances.



Nvidia said the design also reduces energy demand by capturing heat directly at the chip level, avoiding the need to cool large volumes of air. Historically, cooling has represented as much as 40% of a data center’s electricity consumption.



<h2>Water Emerges As AI’s Next Infrastructure Challenge</h2>



The discussion comes as investors and policymakers increasingly scrutinize the resources required to support AI expansion.



Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) this week disclosed that its data centers consumed approximately 2.5 billion gallons of water in 2025. However, the company said its water usage efficiency was substantially better than industry averages.



Meanwhile, local opposition to new data centers has intensified across the U.S., with critics citing concerns ranging from water availability and energy demand to noise and infrastructure strain.



Price Action: Shares of NVDA closed Monday at $208.65, down 0.97% and slipped another 0.41% to $207.79 in after-hours trading, according to Benzinga Pro.



According to Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings, Nvidia ranks in the 98th percentile for Growth, supported by strong price performance in medium and long-term time frames but a negative price trend in the short term.



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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.



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Photo: Frederic Legrand – COMEO On Shutterstock.com

NVDA

NVDL

Elon Musk endorsed Nvidia's claim that AI data centers consume only 0.2% of U.S. daily water usage, attributing this low figure to advanced liquid-cooling technologies. Nvidia highlighted that its upcoming Rubin-generation infrastructure utilizes fully liquid-cooled architectures with near-zero water consumption, significantly reducing the environmental impact compared to traditional cooling towers.

- Concerns over AI's environmental impact have led to Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk endorsing Nvidia's claim that data centers use only 0.2% of the U.S. daily water supply.  
- Nvidia argues that advances in liquid-cooling technology are minimizing this water footprint, with new AI facilities potentially using zero water for cooling.  
- The debate on water consumption amid AI expansion is intensifying, with local opposition to new data centers growing due to concerns over resource strain and environmental effects.

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Elon Musk Gives A Nod As Nvidia Argues AI Data Centers Aren't The Water Drain Many Believe: 'Numbers May Surprise You'