See why Elon Musk's AI power plant is SPARKING OUTRAGE

Elon Musk’s controversial chatbot, Grok, is notorious for polluting the “cloud” with sexual deepfakes and racist content. But in the Memphis metropolitan area, it’s under fire for literally polluting the air. Grok’s “supercomputer” is located in massive data centers on the Tennessee-Mississippi border, powered by dozens of gas-burning turbines emitting harmful particulate matter linked to asthma, lung cancer and heart attacks.

In April, the NAACP sued xAI and its subsidiary MZX Tech, claiming the fleet of turbines violates the Clean Air Act, by taking advantage of a loophole of sorts: Because their turbines are technically on wheels, Mississippi law considers them “portable” and not subject to permitting constraints, including emissions controls. As a result, studies suggest they are pumping pollution into the air, directly impacting disadvantaged communities of color.

As a judge considered the NAACP’s motion for a temporary injunction shutting down the plant, the Department of Justice filed its own motion to dismiss the case, on behalf of xAI. DOJ and DOD claim that Grok’s AI has been used to acquire targets for American airstrikes in Iran. Thus, the Trump Administration reasons, it’s a matter of national security; the power plant must be allowed to stay in operation.

For now, the future of the communities on the border is as hazy as the sky above. MS NOW Senior Reporter Josh Einiger traveled to Southaven to report on this story.

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