Activists Caught Elon Musk’s xAI in a Lie – Its Most Powerful AI Supercomputer Secretly Harms the Environment

Elon Musk’s xAI built the world’s most powerful AI supercomputer in record time — 122 days: the Colossus system with 200,000 Nvidia GPUs. The system’s stated power consumption reaches 300 MW. The complex was built in Memphis (USA). As it turns out, the Colossus is powered by more gas generators than the company is allowed by the authorities. This has outraged local environmentalists, who intend to prevent xAI from polluting the environment.

Thermal imagery of xAI’s AI data center in Memphis. Image credit: Steve Jones, Flight by Southwings for SELC

According to public records, the xAI facility in Memphis is only allowed to operate 15 methane gas generators. The equipment must be shut down 22 times a year for maintenance and compliance checks. Local community activists, along with members of the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), commissioned a thermal imaging aerial survey of the xAI facility. The images show that the facility is servicing over 30 turbines at a time, a blatant violation of the company’s permits.

There is an assumption that Elon Musk’s AI company has closed agreements with local authorities. Therefore, activists demand that all permits issued to xAI for the operation of gas equipment be revoked. The Colossus supercomputer supports the operation of xAI’s AI services in the X social network, chat bots, and the Grok model. The local community gets almost nothing from this, except for environmental pollution. Promises of breakthroughs in the field of AI – the development of new drugs, materials, autonomous driving, and other promising areas – do not inspire optimism in people who are now forced to breathe air saturated with harmful substances every day.

People are worried that Musk and his competitors will not stop there and will continue to multiply supercomputers with AI. A recent study by Georgetown University (USA) shows that if the current pace in this area continues, then in five years each advanced AI data center will cost $200 billion and consume the energy of 9 full-scale nuclear reactors (9 GW). There is reason to start worrying right now.

On the other hand, Musk and xAI have little choice. The US has both a shortage of generating capacity and a shortage of power lines. So xAI has built some of the energy infrastructure on site, using gas generators, so that the center can operate at full capacity now, not in the distant future. Competition is pushing for this. It’s business. Nothing personal. They violated environmental standards a little. This is not the first and probably not the last case for Elon Musk’s companies. In Texas, the company has already paid a lot of fines for violating environmental standards while operating the SpaceX cosmodrome. It will pay in Memphis too, if the public is persistent.