Elon Musk’s AI venture xAI has been running dozens of methane gas turbines without Clean Air Act permits to power its Colossus 2 data center, generating pollution that lands squarely on predominantly Black communities in the Memphis, Tennessee area. The NAACP, Earthjustice, and the Southern Environmental Law Center filed a lawsuit on April 14, 2026, alleging that xAI and its subsidiary MZX Tech are violating federal environmental law.
Here’s the thing: this isn’t xAI’s first time pulling this exact move. Its predecessor facility, Colossus 1, ran up to 35 unpermitted turbines before eventually receiving partial permits covering just 15 units.
The numbers behind the pollution
The scale of the unpermitted operation at the Southaven, Mississippi site is significant. Between 27 and 46 methane gas turbines have been installed, capable of generating up to 495 MW of power.
The potential annual emissions paint a grim picture. The turbines could release over 1,700 tons of nitrogen oxides, 180 tons of fine particulate matter, 500 tons of carbon monoxide, and 19 tons of formaldehyde into the surrounding air each year.
