Most Americans do not want data centers built in their communities, yet investors on Wall Street, judging by the market's reaction, seem largely unconcerned. A Gallup and University of Massachusetts Amherst poll showed that more than 70 percent of Americans oppose the construction of such facilities. The midterm election results were seen as a broad wave of discontent with the technology sector and artificial intelligence.
Democrats used anti-technology and anti-data-center advertising campaigns in more than 130 races for seats in Congress and governorships. According to analysts, this approach reflected growing distrust of large-scale investment in data centers, which require enormous amounts of electricity and water. The key question for the industry is whether companies can secure sufficient computing capacity and control its cost.
Despite this, the market reacted mixedly. Shares of some companies operating in the data center sector fell after the election results were announced. Shares of Tesla and SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, also declined somewhat. At the same time, the Dow Jones index rose by roughly 1,500 points amid Democratic victories, suggesting that investors viewed the election results as a rather positive signal for the market.
One conclusion analysts offer is that local opposition could raise the value of existing data centers. If building new facilities becomes more difficult due to public resistance, existing capacity may become scarcer and, accordingly, more expensive. According to this logic, some investors looking at the market from the perspective of limited supply are counting on exactly this.
Separately, the market is watching Anthropic, which is preparing for an initial public offering of its shares. Questions about securing computing capacity for the company and its cost remain open. For companies developing artificial intelligence models, access to data center infrastructure is critically important, so any restrictions on construction directly affect their prospects.
The political spending of tech billionaires has also become part of this story. Reportedly, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz gave more than $100 million to Republican candidates. Elon Musk, according to reports, spent significantly more than $400 million on the midterm elections. After the results were announced, many leading tech entrepreneurs barely commented on them on social media, while Musk posted a sarcastic remark about his own campaign spending.
A separate storyline concerns the billionaire tax in California. Sergey Brin opposed this initiative and, judging by the voting results, the bill has likely lost its chances of adoption. At the same time, it remains unclear what the election results mean for policy on artificial intelligence and technology in general, and how the industry will respond to growing opposition from voters.