Elon Musk may have yet another day in court, at least if the NAACP has anything to say about it.
The oldest civil rights organization in the United States has named Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, in a new lawsuit, alleging that the turbines powering its “Colossus” data center violate the Clean Air Act of 1970.
For months, xAI has used 27 unpermitted gas turbines — each about the size of a bus — to power the data center used to run the chatbot Grok. The practice has had horrible consequences for the Black, working class neighborhood where the turbines are located, whose residents are stuck breathing xAI’s noxious exhaust.
According to the Guardian, the Mississippi lawsuit seeks to force xAI to stop using the turbines without permits, plus civil penalties to cover legal fees. On top of spewing nitrogen dioxide, a gas that causes irreversible respiratory damage over time, the turbines emit a horrendous sound that’s made life miserable for locals.
“All too often, big corporations like xAI treat our communities and families like obstacles to be pushed aside,” president and CEO of the NAACP Derrick Johnson told the Guardian. “We cannot afford to normalize this kind of environmental injustice — where billion-dollar companies set up polluting operations in Black neighborhoods without any permits and think they’ll get away with it because the people don’t have the power to fight back.”
In response, xAI avoided mentioning whether it plans to stop spewing toxic fumes into the surrounding neighborhood.
“We take our commitment to the community and environment seriously,” a spokesperson told the Guardian. “The temporary power generation units are operating in compliance with all applicable laws.”
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