Elon Musk’s xAI is operating 46 portable or natural gas turbines at its Southaven, Mississippi data center, while the company faces a lawsuit from the NAACP and environmental groups over alleged Clean Air Act and air-permit violations. [1, 2, 3]
The company added 19 turbines over roughly the past two months, according to records and reporting cited in the lawsuit, bringing total installed capacity at the site to more than 500 megawatts since mid-March. [2, 3]
Mississippi regulators are treating the turbines as “mobile” because they are mounted on flatbed trailers, a classification that allows temporary operation without air-pollution regulation for up to one year. The Southern Environmental Law Center disputes that reading and says trailer-mounted turbines can still count as stationary sources under federal air-pollution rules. [1, 3]
xAI has permits for 15 of the turbines, according to the reporting. Plaintiffs say 27 turbines are operating without the permits they say are required, and they argue the emissions worsen local air quality and pose health risks for nearby residents. [1, 2, 3]
The site, known as Colossus 2 in Southaven, is used to train xAI’s Grok AI assistant, and the turbine buildout has drawn complaints from neighbors and environmental groups since at least April, when the NAACP, SELC and Earthjustice filed suit. A drone flyover in April also reportedly identified six additional turbines at the site. [2]
Jan Schaefer, a spokesperson for the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, said, “As indicated by the facility, all portable/temporary turbines are equipped with control technology to minimize emissions.” Ben Grillot of the Southern Environmental Law Center said, “xAI's continued operation of these turbines without a permit and without adequate pollution controls is not only illegal, it's an insult to families living nearby who for months have expressed serious concerns about how air pollution from the company's personal power plant could impact their health and well-being.” [2, 3]
TechCrunch reported on May 13, 2026, that xAI was running nearly 50 gas turbines unchecked at the Mississippi site, with the company’s permit status and turbine count still under scrutiny as the case advances. [1]
