New updates have been reported about xAI.
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xAI is expanding its gas-powered AI infrastructure despite mounting legal and regulatory challenges over emissions from its data center near Memphis, Tennessee. In SpaceX’s IPO filing, the company disclosed that its xAI division intends to purchase $2.8 billion of turbines over the next three years, including a $2 billion commitment for mobile gas turbines of the same type that have drawn lawsuits and federal scrutiny.
The NAACP sued xAI last month, alleging the company is running dozens of unregulated gas turbines that worsen air quality in an area already considered one of the most polluted in the U.S., and is seeking an injunction that could disrupt operations. Regulators say xAI has permits for only 15 turbines but was recently operating 46, each capable of emitting more than 2,000 tons of nitrogen oxides annually, while xAI argues that keeping the units on trailers classifies them as mobile and temporarily exempt under some state interpretations. Federal regulators, including the EPA, have concluded that the turbines fall under standard air-pollution rules regardless of mobility, finding xAI in violation of federal law, and SpaceX warns in its filing that any injunctions or permit withdrawals would materially harm xAI’s AI business, underscoring a significant operational and regulatory risk tied to its current power strategy.