Big Tech Wants to Trade Electricity. What Could Go Wrong?

Welcome back to 3 Tech Polls, HackerNoon's brand-new Weekly Newsletter that curates Results from our Poll of the Week, and 2 related polls around the web.

Thanks for voting and helping us shape these important conversations!

This week, we’re examining Big Tech’s increasing influence on the energy grid—from Meta and Microsoft seeking approval to trade electricity to markets wagering on how quickly Tesla’s energy business will expand.

This Week’s HackerNoon Poll Results

Should big tech companies be allowed to trade electricity?

Meta and Microsoft want federal approval to start buying and reselling electricity—arguing it will speed up the construction of new power plants needed for their AI-hungry data centers. Apple already has similar approval. Supporters say tech giants can help build the extra capacity the grid needs. Critics worry it's less about public good and more about securing cheaper, more reliable power for themselves as their energy demands explode.

As the results illustrate, a clear majority of respondents (60%) are not comfortable with Big Tech stepping into electricity markets.

36%, the strongest single position in the poll, said energy markets shouldn’t be influenced by Big Tech at all. Another 24% agreed, but for a different reason: they believe any electricity trading by companies like Meta and Microsoft would mostly serve corporate interests, not the public.

A smaller group, 18%, took a conditional-yes stance, saying tech firms should be allowed to trade electricity only under strict rules that ensure public benefit. And 21% said they aren’t sure yet, suggesting most people see this as a complex issue with real downstream consequences.

What stands out is the underlying mood: mistrust, or at least unease, about Big Tech gaining influence over a system as essential as the power grid, especially at a time when AI-driven data centers are already straining electricity capacity.

:::tip Weigh in on the poll results here.

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What the Prediction Markets Have to Say

Kalshi

How much will Tesla's energy business grow before 2027?

\ Over on Kalshi, traders are placing bets on how much Tesla’s energy business will grow before 2027—a useful proxy for how seriously the market takes Big Tech’s broader energy ambitions.

Right now, the highest-priced bracket on the contract is the one projecting continued, steady growth in Tesla’s energy revenues. Lower brackets, which imply minimal or stalled growth, are trading at a discount.

In other words, money is flowing toward the idea that tech-aligned energy businesses are only going to get bigger, not smaller.

Polymarket

On Polymarket, the “Largest Company end of 2025?” contract is giving roughly 78% odds to Nvidia, 18% to Apple, and 3% to Alphabet — with firms like Microsoft, Tesla, and energy-sector incumbents trailing far behind.

\ That ranking isn’t an energy bet on its face, but it does reveal where investors expect the strongest growth and expansion. And the companies at the top of this market all share something in common: massive AI, cloud, and infrastructure ambitions — businesses that will require enormous amounts of power to sustain.

If market-cap momentum continues to track energy demand, this could signal that the same firms driving data-center growth may soon have both the leverage—and the incentive—to influence how electricity markets function.

Join the Conversation

:::tip Vote in this week’s poll: Which company will define the next decade of tech?

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We’ll be back next week with more data, more debates, and more donut charts!

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