The Trump administration is defending Elon Musk in a lawsuit alleging his artificial intelligence company, xAI, is polluting residential neighborhoods in north Mississippi. The Department of Justice (DOJ) urged a federal court on Monday to dismiss the case.
The lawsuit, filed by the NAACP in April, claims xAI and its subsidiary MZX Tech installed dozens of methane-gas turbines at a datacenter in Southaven, Mississippi, without required air permits. The suit asserts these turbines emit toxic pollutants in violation of the Clean Air Act and seeks to block their operation.
The DOJ argues the datacenter trains and develops AI models "critical to the economy and the Department of War," and the turbines are necessary for its power supply. In a 33-page filing, the government claims the Clean Air Act allows it to terminate such "citizen lawsuits."
"The Department of Justice will not sit idly by while private organizations use environmental laws to undermine our national security," said Adam Gustafson, a deputy assistant attorney general for the DOJ's environment and natural resources division.
xAI's primary product is the chatbot Grok, similar to ChatGPT but controversial for generating nonconsensual deepfakes and sexualized images. The DOJ filing states Grok's continued availability is "paramount" to national security, claiming a military version assisted U.S. forces in deploying over 2,000 munitions in the war against Iran.
xAI's parent company, SpaceX, recently had the largest initial public offering in history, valuing it at over $2 trillion and making Musk the world's first trillionaire. xAI also partnered with Google and Anthropic to rent datacenter space for billions annually.
NAACP lawyers argue affected communities have long had the right to sue polluters and that the DOJ cannot simply dismiss such cases. They emphasize all companies must follow environmental laws.
"There is no moral or legal precedent for this," said Laura Thoms, enforcement director for Earthjustice, representing the NAACP. "This isn't about national security; it's a desperate attempt to protect wealthy tech companies from obeying laws meant to protect people from pollution."
xAI operates two datacenters in the region, "Colossus 1" and "Colossus 2." Colossus 2 occupies 1 million square feet in Southaven, while Colossus 1 is near historically Black neighborhoods in Memphis. Both have faced community backlash.
The NAACP alleges xAI illegally installed and operates 57 gas turbines at its Southaven facility, each the size of a large bus. The group claims the datacenter can emit over 5,000 tons of nitrogen oxides annually, along with particulate matter and formaldehyde, making it a top regional polluter. These pollutants are linked to asthma, heart disease, respiratory illnesses, and cancer.
"Laws like the Clean Air Act are a bedrock insurance policy for communities to hold polluters accountable," said Abre' Conner, NAACP director of environmental and climate justice. "This should not be up for debate."
xAI did not respond to a request for comment.
