The NAACP is leading the fight against Elon Musk’s xAI startup in Memphis. The organization has teamed up with environmental groups to appeal a permit allowing Musk’s company to run natural gas-burning turbines that power the facility.
According to CNBC, the groups filed the paperwork for the appeal July 15.
Musk established the plant last year, going relatively under the radar by deeming the turbines as temporary. However, nearby residents quickly noticed adverse effects to the area and to
their health—specifically a noted stench and a decline in the air quality—creating what the NAACP considers a case of environmental racism.The turbines also omit pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and formaldehyde. According to the outlet, high exposure to the nitrogen oxide can lead to higher risk of death from respiratory disease.
Despite this, local governance has allowed Musk to continue using the turbines. Its most recent permit, approved by Shelby County Health Department on July 2, says the tech entrepreneur can use up to 15 of them, agreeing with Musk’s initial claim that they are small enough to be “nonroad engines.”
The Southern Poverty Law Center, representing the NAACP and local environmental group Young, Gifted & Green, argued that the health department wrongly categorized the turbines. It further claimed this not only ignores residents’ concerns, but violates the Clean Air Act.
xAI called the appeal “baseless” and “politically driven, telling CNBC that it felt “disheartened (but not surprised)” by the move. The company said is compliant with all levels of the law.
The NAACP had previously spread awareness
on xAi’s ongoing negative health impact toward Memphis’ Black population.“All too often, big corporations like xAI treat our communities and families like obstacles to be pushed aside,” said NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson in June. “We cannot afford to normalize this kind of environmental injustice—where billion-dollar companies set up polluting operations in Black neighborhoods without any permits and think they’ll get away with it because the people don’t have the power to fight back. We will not allow xAI to get away with this.”
The groups have already threatened to take further legal action with a lawsuit.
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