Elon Musk brought ‘the world’s biggest supercomputer’ to Memphis. Residents say they’re choking on its pollution
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Publish Date: 2026-03-26 12:44:00
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An aerial image of xAI’s data center in southwest Memphis. Local residents are protesting against the facility’s use of gas-powered turbines. – Courtesy Steve Jones Flight by Southwings for the Southern Environmental Law Center
Last summer, an abandoned factory in southwest Memphis got a new life courtesy of the world’s richest man. Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI moved in to transform this unprepossessing building into the “world’s largest supercomputer.”
Musk named it Colossus and said it was the “most powerful AI training system in the world.” It was sold locally as a source of jobs, tax dollars and a key addition to the “Digital Delta” — the move to make Memphis a hotspot for advanced technology.
“This is just the beginning,” xAI said on its website; the company already has plans for a second facility in the city.
But for some residents in nearby Boxtown, a majority Black, economically-disadvantaged community that has long endured industrial pollution, xAI’s facility represents yet another threat to their health.
AI is immensely power-hungry, and Musk’s company installed dozens of gas-powered turbines, known to produce a cocktail of toxic pollutants. The company currently has no air permits, appearing to rely on a loophole for temporary turbines — but environmental groups say the exemption does not apply, and residents are angry.
“Our health was never considered, the safety of our communities was never, ever considered,” said Sarah Gladney, who lives 3 miles from the facility and suffers from a lung condition.
xAI did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment.
This part of Memphis, home to 17 other polluting facilities — including an oil refinery, steel plant and gas-fired power plant — is used to fighting for clean air.
This time, however, not only are they up against the world’s richest man, who happens to be one of President Donald Trump’s closest advisors, but it’s happening as the Trump administration…
