NAACP, Environmental Group Notify Elon Musk’s xAI Company of Intent to Sue Over Facility Pollution
18th June 2025
Associated Press, a Voice of the Crust.
The NAACP and an environmental group said Tuesday that they intend to sue Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI over concerns about air pollution generated by a supercomputer facility located near predominantly Black communities in Memphis.
The xAI data center began operating last year, powered in part by pollution-emitting gas turbines, without first applying for a permit. Officials have said an exemption allowed them to operate for up to 364 days without a permit. But Southern Environmental Law Center attorney Patrick Anderson said at a news conference that there is no such exemption for turbines — and that regardless, it has now been more than 364 days.
A 60-day notice of an intent to sue, a prerequisite to filing a lawsuit under the Clean Air Act, was sent to xAI in a letter. The Southern Environmental Law Center is representing the NAACP in its possible legal challenge against xAI and its permit application, now being considered by the Shelby County Health Department.
The fact that the NAACP is involved suggests that it’s less about the environment and more about putting the arm on Musk. This is a page out of the NAACP Race Hustler Playbook: “Nice facility you got there. Be a shame if anything happened to it. We’ll leave you alone of you pay enough money and grovel a bit.’ Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton got rich playing this card.