The DOJ has intervened in a pollution lawsuit against Elon Musk’s xAI company, now a division of SpaceX, claiming the AI firm plays a vital role in military operations and national security.
Wired reports that the DOJ filed a motion on Monday to dismiss a lawsuit targeting xAI’s use of unpermitted natural gas turbines at its data center, arguing that efforts to shut down the power supply threaten American national, economic, and energy security. The federal agency joined xAI and the state of Mississippi in requesting dismissal of the suit, which was filed by the NAACP in April.
The lawsuit centers on xAI’s second data center facility in Southaven, Mississippi, known as Colossus 2. The NAACP alleges the company is violating the Clean Air Act by operating natural gas turbines without proper permits, creating serious public health risks for surrounding communities. In May, the civil rights organization filed for a preliminary injunction to halt operation of the turbines, asserting that their continued unpermitted use increases risks of asthma attacks and heart disease in areas already burdened by heavy pollution.
According to the DOJ memorandum, only four AI models, including xAI’s Grok, support mission-critical operations across Secret and Top-Secret classified networks. A separate declaration from Cameron Stanley, the chief digital and artificial intelligence officer at the Department of Defense, outlined how the military depends on Grok’s Gov model to support vital national security missions. Stanley’s filing revealed that the model was used as part of recent strikes against Iran, and stated that forcing xAI to cease operating the gas turbines powering Colossus 2 would directly threaten ongoing national security interests.
The controversy over xAI’s turbine operations began in 2024 when residents of southwest Memphis raised concerns about unpermitted gas turbines at the company’s first data center site. The Memphis region suffers from some of the highest asthma rates in the country, prompting residents to worry about additional pollution from the unauthorized turbines. State agencies in both Tennessee and Mississippi have maintained that the company has a one-year grace period to operate the turbines without clean air permits, a position the NAACP contends contradicts EPA regulations.
The scale of operations at the Southaven facility has expanded significantly since the lawsuit was filed. While the original NAACP complaint identified 27 turbines operating without permits, emails between xAI and state regulators obtained by the Southern Environmental Law Center, a partner in the NAACP lawsuit, reveal that 57 turbines were operating without permits at the Colossus 2 site as of mid-May. The emails show that many turbines were added weeks after the NAACP filed its legal challenge.
Read more at Wired here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of AI, free speech, and online censorship.