Despite his campaign spending $438 on software from Anthropic, which has contracted to use the SpaceXSI Colossus supercomputer in Memphis, independent Tennessee gubernatorial candidate David Hatley previously said data centers for artificial intelligence (AI), also referred to as super intelligence (SI) by the Trump administration, “terrify” him when asked specifically about the Elon Musk-owned facility.
Anthropic, which develops the Claude chatbot, announced an agreement with Musk’s SpaceXSI on May 6, with the deal providing Anthropic access to more than 300 megawatts of computing capacity at Colossus. The company said the additional computing power would benefit subscribers to its Claude Pro and Claude Max products.
Campaign finance records show the Hatley campaign paid $219 to Anthropic on July 22, $109.50 to Anthropic on September 22, $109.50 to Anthropic on October 22, for a total of $438 in software subscriptions to the SI company.
Though it is not clear what Anthropic software the Hatley campaign paid for, Anthropic notably offers two versions of its Claude Max plan, one for $100 per month and one for $200 per month.
Hatley lives in Johnson City, which has a 2.5 percent local sales tax rate. Combined with Tennessee’s 7 percent statewide sales tax rate, an enterprise based in Johnson City would have paid about $109.50 for the $100 per month version of Claude Max, or $219 for the $200 per month version of Claude Max.
The amounts reported by the campaign correspond exactly to Anthropic’s advertised Claude Max subscription prices with Johnson City’s combined sales tax applied, though the campaign has not confirmed which Anthropic products or subscription plans it purchased.
Anthropic is the SI company that President Donald Trump called a “RADICAL LEFT, WOKE COMPANY,” and accused it attempting to dictate how the military operates through its subscription, in a February post to Truth Social.
“The Leftwing nut jobs at Anthropic have made a DISASTROUS MISTAKE trying to STRONG-ARM the Department of War, and force them to obey their Terms of Service instead of our Constitution,” wrote Trump. “Their selfishness is putting AMERICAN LIVES at risk, our Troops in danger, and our National Security in JEOPARDY.”
Trump then ordered all federal agencies to immediately cease using Anthropic technology.
The independent candidate said data centers “terrify” him in response to a question from Todd Starnes on his Memphis-based Todd Starnes Show in September.
“Of course, Elon Musk building all of the Colossus, the data centers. And depending on who you talk to, there are a lot of opinions. And some Republicans and Democrats agree or even disagree on the issue,” said Starnes.
He asked the candidate, “Where do you stand on these data centers?”
Hatley replied, “They terrify me, to be honest,” declaring “there’s so many unknowns at these data centers.”
Starnes also raised complaints from residents about noise allegedly generated by the facilities, suggesting that Musk’s efforts to soundproof the operations demonstrated recognition of the problem. Hatley said he had heard similar concerns, adding that he believed the noise was a problem.
Hatley’s comments came amid complaints about alleged noise pollution associated with Musk’s data-center operations. Those concerns have also featured in federal litigation, including a lawsuit filed by Mississippi residents alleging that natural gas turbines used to power SpaceXAI facilities caused excessive noise and vibrations.
More recently, Hatley on Tuesday argued his Democratic Party opponent, Memphis City Council Member Jerri Green, was wrong to vote to sell city land to SpaceXSI, which the company hopes for water recycling.
“Jerri Green now says she’s for a data center moratorium,” wrote Hatley in a post to X. “But when Elon Musk needed city land to cool his supercomputer in Memphis, she voted to sell it to him. I’ve been against these data centers from the start.”
Hatley wrote, “In 2025, the Memphis City Council approved selling 13 acres of city land to Elon Musk’s xAI for $820,000. The land is for an $80 million water-recycling plant that cools xAI’s Colossus supercomputer. Green was on the council and supported the sale; her own campaign site touts her support for the ‘greywater reuse facility.’ She voted for it.”
Notably, Hatley’s campaign website does not call for a permanent moratorium on data centers for SI, which is also known as artificial intelligence (AI). Instead, it proposes temporarily suspending new approvals until companies are required to pay for the electrical infrastructure their projects need, disclose and pay for water consumption, and obtain approval from local communities.
His website summarizes his position, “Build here. Pay your way. Be welcome. But for now, pause all new ones coming.”
An October 19 poll released by Spry Research found Hatley polling in third place at 11.9 percent. Pollsters found U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) leading at 43.5 percent, with Green in a distant second at 32 percent.
Hatley’s campaign has since released internal polling that shows Blackburn at 35 percent, Green at 30 percent, and Hatley at 26 percent.
The survey released by Hatley’s campaign contains a disclosure stating that the respondents, “are self-selected and are not a representative probability sample of the Tennessee electorate.”
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “David Hatley” by David Hatley. Background Photo “Colossus Supercomputer” by xAI.
