Musk’s xAI fuelled by illegal methane generators

Musk’s xAI fuelled by illegal methane generators

What’s going on here? A new data center in Memphis, Tennessee, initially launched in September 2024, is being powered by pollution-belching portable methane generators without a permit. The culprit? xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company responsible for the chatbot Grok. Now, an advocacy group is fighting back. What does this mean? The Southern Environmental Law Center is a US-based NGO set up to protect the environment of the southeas…

In a neighbourhood of Memphis already affected by the ravages of industrial pollution, the arrival of the supercomputer Colossus, deployed by xAI — Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company — raises serious concerns. While this infrastructure reflects the entrepreneur's ambition in the race towards general artificial intelligence, it also crystallises a growing controversy: the alleged illegal use of methane-fired generators, which would aggra…