Tesla cofounder JB Straubel warned that the U.S. power grid is not keeping pace with AI-driven load growth, saying “we should be really worried” as China accelerates its power buildout. Speaking at Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen on Monday, Straubel argued the pace of demand and supply growth is unprecedented and that current grid limits are driving delays and cancellations for large infrastructure projects. Straubel connected the grid constraint to evolving battery storage investments, including Redwood Materials’ shift toward building battery energy storage for hyperscalers and the grid. The comments also set up a broader panel discussion on demand response and virtual power plants, with speakers emphasizing that additional behind-the-meter resources may be essential until grid expansion catches up. For higher education and research institutions planning compute-heavy initiatives, the message is operational: energy availability is increasingly treated as a gating constraint for AI expansion rather than a secondary utility consideration.