Elon Musk’s xAI Faces Environmental Allegations in Memphis

Environmental advocates have accused Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI of exacerbating ecological conditions in Memphis, Tennessee. This was reported by CNBC.

The company allegedly operates gas turbines for its new data processing center without proper authorization.

Shortly after securing $6 billion in funding, xAI announced the opening of a data center at the former Electrolux plant. In July, Musk mentioned the imminent launch of an AI training system with 100,000 Nvidia H100 processors.

This week, the Southern Environmental Law Center sent a letter to the Shelby County Health Department, where Memphis is located, and the regional office of the Environmental Protection Agency on behalf of several local groups, requesting an investigation into xAI for using turbines without permits and contributing to environmental pollution.

The letter states that the startup has installed at least 18 gas combustion turbines in recent months. Some are visible from the road surrounding the site. They emit pollutants into the air, which can irritate human eyes, nose, throat, and lungs, causing coughing, shortness of breath, fatigue, and nausea.

Businesses in Tennessee are required to obtain permits to operate turbines, which would establish allowable emission concentrations.

In August, xAI launched the beta version of Grok-2 and Grok-2 mini. The neural network can generate images in X and “possesses advanced capabilities in chat, programming, and reasoning.”