Elon Musk’s AI startup, xAI, is facing mounting criticism from environmental and health advocates who allege that the company is contributing to pollution in Memphis, Tennessee. The controversy centers on xAI’s use of natural gas-burning turbines at its data center without obtaining the necessary permits.
The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) has sent a formal letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the health department of Shelby County, where the data center is located. The letter, dated August 26, claims that xAI has installed nearly 20 gas turbines with a combined capacity of approximately 100 MW—enough electricity to power around 50,000 homes—yet has not applied for any air permits for these turbines.
The SELC is urging the county’s health department to investigate whether xAI is operating these turbines without the required air permits and to take enforcement action if necessary. According to the organization, the gas turbines emit large quantities of pollutants that exacerbate the already poor air quality in Memphis.
Elon Musk recently announced that a cluster of powerful Nvidia H100 chips had begun training xAI’s Grok AI model, describing the Tennessee data center as “the most powerful AI training cluster in the world.” He also mentioned that the facility would provide a significant advantage in training the world’s most powerful AI by December.
However, the environmental concerns raised by the SELC have cast a shadow over xAI’s technological advancements. The startup, founded by Musk last year and valued at over $24 billion as of May, was initially positioned as a competitor to OpenAI, Alphabet’s Google, and Anthropic. Earlier this month, xAI launched the Grok 2 series of language models.
As of now, neither Elon Musk nor xAI has responded to requests for comment on the allegations.
This unfolding situation highlights the growing tension between the rapid advancement of AI technologies and the environmental impact of the infrastructure required to support them.
