Bill Gates has warned Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft that the AI datacentre buildout cannot be sold to Americans on half the truth. Some of these megacomplexes will not pay off, the Microsoft co-founder said, and no community will absorb a higher power bill to underwrite a bad bet.

With 48 projects worth $156 billion already blocked in 2025 and US support at just 26 percent, the warning is no longer hypothetical.