xAI is Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company. The 57 methane gas turbines power Colossus 2, xAI's data center in a Black Memphis neighborhood. The Justice Department says they are needed for US military operations.
The Justice Department and the state of Mississippi have asked a federal court to dismiss an NAACP lawsuit over methane gas turbines that Elon Musk's AI company xAI operates next to homes in a predominantly Black South Memphis neighborhood. The federal government's argument, as reported by Wired and surfaced in Engadget's coverage: shutting the turbines down would 'threaten American national, economic, and energy security.'
The NAACP filed the lawsuit over 27 turbines — the number xAI was operating at the time — but SELC-obtained emails cited by Engadget show xAI subsequently added turbines, bringing the total to 57. The NAACP accuses xAI of running the turbines without the proper permit to power Colossus 2, the expansion of xAI's flagship Memphis data center. The group later asked the court for an injunction to stop the turbines, citing increased risks of asthma attacks and heart disease for residents who live near the site. Gas turbines emit hazardous chemicals and fine particulate matter, and the data center sits in close proximity to homes.
In its motion to dismiss, the DOJ has argued that xAI's operations are integral to US military operations, including what the filing itself calls the Iran War. The filing's own language, that pulling the turbines would 'threaten American national, economic, and energy security,' reframes a routine environmental permitting dispute as a federal claim that a private AI buildout is critical military infrastructure.
Mississippi has joined the federal filing. The state's specific role and standing in the motion are not yet public.
The case now turns on whether a court will accept a national-security framing for a private company's gas turbines, or require the permitting process to run first. The answer will determine whether the next AI data center, in Memphis or elsewhere, can be defended on national-security grounds before its air permit is even reviewed.