Elon Musk faces lawsuit over alleged toxic emissions from Mississippi data centers
The NAACP has filed a federal lawsuit against Elon Musk's xAI, alleging Clean Air Act violations from methane-gas turbines powering its Southaven, Mississippi data center, leading to toxic emissions. The Department of Justice has intervened, seeking to dismiss the lawsuit citing national security concerns, which the NAACP disputes. A separate lawsuit was also filed regarding a Memphis data center.
The NAACP has initiated a federal lawsuit against Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company, xAI, alleging violations of the Clean Air Act. The lawsuit claims that xAI operates dozens of methane-gas turbines without proper permits in Southaven, Mississippi, to power its data facility, which supports the Grok chatbot for the X platform. These turbines are accused of discharging over 5,000 tons of nitrogen oxides and other harmful chemicals annually into residential communities, posing risks of asthma, heart disease, respiratory illnesses, and cancer.
In a significant development, the Department of Justice intervened in June, filing a brief in Mississippi federal court to dismiss the lawsuit. The DOJ contended that xAI's data center, which develops AI models, is "critical to the economy and the Department of War," citing the military's purported use of Grok during the Iran war. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson stated the DOJ would not allow "private organizations use environmental laws to undermine our national security."
The NAACP has also filed a separate lawsuit in April concerning Musk's second data center in Memphis, located near historically Black communities. Legal counsel for the NAACP, represented by Earthjustice and the Southern Environmental Law Center, countered the DOJ's argument, asserting that all corporations must adhere to environmental regulations. Laura Thoms of Earthjustice dismissed the national security claim as a "desperate attempt to protect wealthy tech companies from obeying the laws meant to protect people from pollution." These cases are part of broader legal challenges across the U.S. related to health hazards from data centers.