Elon Musk’s xAI threatened with lawsuit over air pollution from Memphis data center

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — On Tuesday, the Southern Environmental Law Center, on behalf of the NAACP, sent a letter to xAI signaling their intent to sue over the company’s continued use of unpermitted gas turbines at its data center in South Memphis.  

The letter explains how xAI, a company founded by Elon Musk, has violated federal law by installing dozens of polluting methane gas turbines at its data center without any of the required permits or best available pollution controls. The 60-day Notice of Intent to Sue is a prerequisite to filing a lawsuit under the Clean Air Act.

“XAI’s decision to install and operate dozens of polluting gas turbines without any permits or public oversight is a clear violation of the Clean Air Act,” SELC Senior Attorney Patrick Anderson said. “Over the last year, these turbines have pumped out pollution that threatens the health of Memphis families. This notice paves the way for a lawsuit that can hold xAI accountable for its unlawful refusal to get permits for its gas turbines.”

XAI began operations at its South Memphis data center in June of 2024. To meet the facility’s massive power demands, the company began installing dozens of polluting methane gas turbines without any permits. Aerial images obtained by SELC revealed 35 turbines at the site in March, and follow-up thermal images obtained in April showed that nearly all of the turbines were emitting significant amounts of heat, indicating they were running. New satellite images show that, while the company has removed some smaller-sized turbines, it has recently installed three larger turbines.

Gas turbines release smog-forming pollution and hazardous chemicals like formaldehyde. These pollutants are tied to increases in asthma, respiratory diseases, heart problems, and certain cancers. XAI’s South Memphis data center is located near predominantly Black communities that are already overburdened with industrial pollution from dozens of industrial facilities, including an oil refinery, a steel mill, and a TVA gas plant. Studies show that Boxtown, the neighborhood closest to the xAI data center, faces a cancer risk four times the national average.

“All too often, big corporations like xAI treat our communities and families like obstacles to be pushed aside,” said NAACP President Derrick Johnson. “We cannot afford to normalize this kind of environmental injustice—where billion-dollar companies set up polluting operations in Black neighborhoods without any permits and think they’ll get away with it because the people don’t have the power to fight back. We will not allow xAI to get away with this.”

The Memphis metro area already struggles with significant and growing problems with ozone pollution—better known as smog. The last four years of air monitoring data show that the Memphis metro area is violating national smog standards and that the problem is getting worse, not better. This year, Shelby County once again received an “F” for ozone pollution from the American Lung Association.

XAI has faced significant public pushback from Memphians over the last year. Community groups have held protests as hundreds of people submitted comments to the Shelby County Health Department in opposition to the company’s use of polluting gas turbines.

Community members have also raised serious questions about xAI’s second South Memphis data center, located in the Whitehaven community. The company has not said how that facility would be powered, creating concerns that xAI could install more polluting gas turbines in the Memphis area. 

Local and federal regulations require xAI to obtain appropriate air permits before operating its polluting gas turbines. While some local leaders, including the Memphis Mayor and Shelby County Health Department, have claimed there is a “364-exemption” for xAI’s gas turbines, they have never been able to point to a specific exemption that would apply to turbines as large as the ones at the xAI site.