Lawsuit: Communities at Risk From xAI's Illegal Toxins

NAACP sues, alleging unpermitted gas turbines endanger residents near Memphis

The nation's oldest civil rights organization is taking Elon Musk's xAI to court, arguing the SpaceX subsidiary is illegally spewing toxins that could harm communities near Memphis. The NAACP on Tuesday sued xAI and its subsidiary MZX Tech, accusing them of running dozens of natural gas turbines to power its Colossus 2 data center in South Memphis without the required federal air permit and in violation of the Clean Air Act. Filed in federal court in Mississippi, per CNBC, the complaint says 27 turbines have been operating since 2025 at the Colossus Gas Plant in the Memphis suburb of Southaven, emitting smog-forming pollution, fine particulate matter, and formaldehyde, which the group links to cancers, heart issues, and respiratory diseases.