<
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/apr/14/naacp-lawsuit-elon-musk-xai-memphis>
"A new lawsuit accuses Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company of illegally
spewing toxic pollutants into the Black neighborhoods on the border of
Tennessee and Mississippi.
The suit, filed on Tuesday in Mississippi federal court, alleges xAI is
violating the
Clean Air Act due to emissions from its makeshift power plant
in Southaven, Mississippi, which powers its datacenters in south Memphis. The
NAACP, represented by environmental groups Southern Environmental Law Center
and Earthjustice, says xAI has been polluting the surrounding historically
Black communities by using dozens of methane gas generators without permits.
The organization is seeking to force the company to stop operating its
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 datacenters, nicknamed “Colossus” and “Colossus II” by Musk, are massive
facilities, with the latter occupying 1m sq ft in Memphis. They are located in
Memphis’s industrial zone and a few miles from residential neighborhoods that
have long dealt with harmful pollution, including Boxtown, a neighborhood that
was established by formerly enslaved people after emancipation in the 19th
century.
The lawsuit alleges xAI illegally installed and operated up to 27 gas turbines,
each one the size of a large bus, to power the datacenters. Combined, they have
the capacity to emit tons of harmful nitrogen oxides per year, along with toxic
chemicals like formaldehyde, according to the Southern Environmental Law
Center."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
