Could Memphis ban data centers? Maybe.
On Tuesday, the Memphis City Council discussed potential zoning changes that would impact data centers.
Topic: xAI
RSSThere are 177 article(s) tagged xAI:
-
September 2026
-
-
July 2026
-
Lowery: ‘Collaboration’ with state, not intervention or takeover
Democratic nominee for County Mayor Mickell Lowery talked about state intervention, his vote to raise county property taxes and tax breaks as economic development incentives on “Behind The Headlines.”
-
Opinion: Memphis breweries ask SpaceXAI to keep its water promise
Opinion: “Memphis does not have to choose between innovation and stewardship. ... SpaceXAI must complete the water recycling facility, pursue water-saving technologies, and be the community partner Memphis was promised.”
-
State of Mississippi defends Elon Musk’s Southaven turbines
Mississippi aruges that the lawsuit from the Mississippi NAACP about SpaceX’s private power plant in Southaven is a threat to its ability to regulate the state’s environment.
-
-
June 2026
-
Opinion: On xAI, Mayor Young is gaslighting Memphis
Opinion by Joseph Ryan Kelly: “If Mayor Young truly believes Anthropic’s partnership with xAI is unequivocally good news for Memphis, then he is badly misreading the moment.”
-
SpaceX recommits to building water recycling plant
SpaceXAI representatives met with Memphis Mayor Paul Young and MLGW President Doug McGowen earlier this week.
-
Reporters address SpaceX promises as Elon Musk company goes public
The local face of SpaceX has been making a lot of news as the Houston-based company goes public with a record-setting IPO. The local controversies against that backdrop were discussed on “Behind The Headlines.”
-
SpaceX stock soars in debut and makes Elon Musk the first trillionaire
Musk became the world’s first trillionaire after shares of his rocket company SpaceX, which also operates Memphis data centers, soared in Wall Street’s biggest initial public offering of stock.
-
City of Memphis confident that SpaceX will finish water recycling plant
SpaceX paused construction of the plant in April, which The Daily Memphian first reported.
-
Memphis advisory board finalizes 11 community priorities for $3 million AI fund
The board’s recommendations — which still need to pass the City Council — include a $1 million allocation for a pre-weatherization assistance program to help residents with critical home repairs, mold remediation and indoor air quality improvements.
-
-
May 2026
-
SpaceX buys data center building for $185 million
SpaceX purchased the building that houses the Colossus data center for $185 million, documents show.
-
Claude AI to use xAI’s Memphis data center
Anthropic, the company behind the widely successful Claude chatbot, would use all of Colossus’ computing capacity.
-
Protesters block entrance to xAI’s Memphis data center
Demonstrators outside xAI’s Colossus I data center in Southwest Memphis voice concerns about air pollution in the area.
-
-
April 2026
-
GXO Logistics leasing bulk warehouse in Olive Branch
GXO Logistics is streamlining its local footprint, leasing an Olive Branch warehouse after Elon Musk’s xAI purchased two of its previous local facilities.
-
XAI sued because of alleged Clean Air Act violations
The NAACP, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk’s xAI.
-
U of M, Ole Miss and others team up for new AI consortium
University leadership at four regional higher education institutions will sign an agreement forming an AI research partnership on April 20.
-
Greater Memphis Chamber CEO placed on leave, reasons unclear
According to several high-level sources, Ted Townsend has been placed on leave by the Greater Memphis Chamber, but it is unclear why.
-
Calkins: Time to hold Musk and xAI to ‘the one promise they’ve made.’
“Will Elon Musk follow through on his promise to build a water-recycling facility? It’s up to Memphians to make sure he does.”
Related content:
-
XAI Mississippi air permit appealed by SELC
Last month, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Permit Board approved an xAI subsidiary’s application to erect 41 natural gas turbines.
-
Elon Musk gives timeline on water recycling plant
The Daily Memphian reported the water recycling facility, a key promise the company made to local leaders and residents, was “on an indefinite pause.” Without it, xAI uses fresh drinking water to cool its Colossus data center.
-
XAI promised it would save billions of gallons of fresh drinking water every year by recycling wastewater. Now, that’s in doubt.
Ahead of SpaceX’s IPO, it would stand to reason the cost of a water-recycling plant may be essential to the long-term health of the Memphis Sand Aquifer, but it might not be essential to a company whose books could soon come under broader public scrutiny.
Related content:
-
XAI water recycling plant on indefinite pause
Without the plant’s completion, xAI and TVA could continue drawing billions of gallons of freshwater from the aquifer, which also supplies the region’s drinking water.
-
GXO closes Southaven warehouse as xAI moves in, adding to North Mississippi layoffs
Together, the companies are laying off more than 450 workers in North Mississippi.
-
Opinion: Memphis must demand more from industrial polluters
“If a company’s business model depends on the exploitation of a Black city and the enrichment of a few power brokers at the top, we don’t want them here.”
-
-
March 2026
-
XAI properties appraised at $3.5 billion, documents show
The appraisals for the two data centers help to determine how much Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company will pay in property taxes.
-