A new lawsuit claims that Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company has been unlawfully releasing harmful pollutants into predominantly Black communities along the Tennessee-Mississippi border in the United States.
Filed Tuesday in federal court in Mississippi, the complaint alleges that xAI is breaching the Clean Air Act through emissions from a temporary power plant in Southaven, Mississippi, which supplies electricity to its data centers in south Memphis.
The NAACP, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center and Earthjustice, argues that xAI has been operating dozens of methane gas generators without the required permits, polluting nearby historically Black neighborhoods.
The group is seeking a court order to halt the operation of the unpermitted turbines in Southaven.
“All too often, big corporations like xAI treat our communities and families like obstacles to be pushed aside,” said Derrick Johnson, the president and CEO of the NAACP.
xAI’s data centers, nicknamed “Colossus” and “Colossus II” by Musk, are large-scale facilities, with the latter covering about 1 million square feet in Memphis.
The sites are located in Memphis’s industrial zone, only a few miles from residential areas that have long faced environmental concerns.
One of these communities is Boxtown, a historic neighborhood founded by formerly enslaved people in the 19th century after emancipation.
The lawsuit also claims that xAI unlawfully installed and operated as many as 27 gas turbines to power its data centers, with each unit described as being roughly the size of a large bus.
According to the Southern Environmental Law Center, the combined operations could release large amounts of nitrogen oxides annually, along with hazardous air pollutants such as formaldehyde.
The lawsuit also claims that xAI unlawfully installed and operated as many as 27 gas turbines to power its data centers, with each unit described as being roughly the size of a large bus.
According to the Southern Environmental Law Center, the combined operations could release large amounts of nitrogen oxides annually, along with hazardous air pollutants such as formaldehyde.
Black residents still make up a significant share of communities in Memphis, many of which have long experienced higher rates of health challenges, including Asthma and other Respiratory diseases, as well as lower life expectancy compared to other parts of the city.
Studies have also found that some of these neighborhoods face an estimated cancer risk significantly above national averages, in some cases reported as up to four times higher.
