xAI faces legal backlash over unpermitted gas turbines in Memphis

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, is facing legal and community opposition regarding its Colossus supercomputer facilities in the Memphis metropolitan area. The controversy involves two sites: Colossus 1 in South Memphis and Colossus 2 near the Tennessee-Mississippi border in Southaven, Mississippi.

The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) has issued a notice of intent to sue xAI on behalf of the NAACP, alleging violations of the Clean Air Act. The SELC claims that xAI has operated at least 35 unpermitted gas turbines at the Colossus 1 site since June 2024 without obtaining necessary preconstruction or operating air permits.

Environmental advocates argue these turbines could emit more than 2,000 tons of nitrogen oxides annually, contributing to smog. The legal action comes amid existing public health concerns in Memphis, which has been identified by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America as the ‘asthma capital’ of the United States.