Musk's xAI Acquires Third Building for AI Data Center

Is xAI's Memphis facility environmental racism against a Black community, or transformative economic opportunity for the city?

Published 7 hours ago

Musk's xAI Acquires Third Building for AI Data Center

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Image credit: Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto/Getty Images

The Spin

Techno-skeptic narrative

xAI's Memphis data center highlights environmental racism at its worst, dumping toxic pollution into a historically Black neighborhood already suffering from industrial contamination. The company operated over 30 unpermitted gas turbines for months, violating the Clean Air Act, while residents developed respiratory diseases from the rotten-cabbage smell permeating their homes. This dangerous precedent allows billionaires to sacrifice vulnerable communities for profit.

Guardian People.com

Techno-optimist narrative

xAI's facilities bring transformative economic opportunity to localities they operate in — like Memphis — creating hundreds of high-paying jobs with compensation up to $200 per hour and generating millions in tax revenue. xAI is investing over $10 billion and building an $80 million graywater recycling facility to protect the Memphis Aquifer for generations. Business-friendly environment attracts innovative companies that deliver real prosperity.

U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn Hoodline