SpaceX loses bid to toss NAACP lawsuit over Memphis data center air pollution
A federal judge rejected SpaceXAI's effort to dismiss an NAACP lawsuit alleging that gas turbines powering xAI data centers in Southaven violated the Clean Air Act. The lawsuit will proceed, with claims concerning 27 allegedly unpermitted turbines and pollution risks to nearby residents.
A federal judge in Mississippi denied SpaceXAI's motion to dismiss an NAACP lawsuit over gas-fired turbines used to power the Colossus AI data centers in Southaven. The suit, filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center and Earthjustice in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, alleges that xAI and subsidiary MZX Tech installed and operated 27 turbines without required air permits between August and December 2025.
The court rejected arguments that the turbines qualified as mobile sources exempt from permitting and that the NAACP lacked standing under the Clean Air Act. The ruling allows the case to continue, after the court also declined a separate Justice Department request to end the litigation. SpaceX did not immediately comment.