US activists demand shutdown of Musk's 'dirty' supercomputer: NBC News
2 Min Read
The call to shut down Elon Musk’s Colossus supercomputer project in Memphis cites pollution from unpermitted methane turbines and environmental law violations by xAI.
-
Elon Musk attends a news conference with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington, on May 30, 2025 (AP)
The US National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has formally called on health authorities in Shelby County, Tennessee, to shut down Elon Musk's Colossus supercomputer project, citing environmental violations and public health risks.
The NAACP urged officials to act against what it described as a "dirty" operation by Musk’s company, xAI, according to a letter obtained by NBC News.
In the letter, the organization asserted that xAI has been operating unpermitted methane gas turbines at its Memphis facility, violating clean air regulations and open meeting laws. The group also demanded that xAI be penalized for allegedly operating outside legal boundaries.
"Members of the community have been left in the dark at all phases of this process," the letter reads, adding that "the public agencies, appointed and elected officials, and companies who they appealed to for help have responded with no sense of urgency to address their concerns."
NAACP President Derrick Johnson directly appealed to the Shelby County Health Department, stressing that the health and safety of Black residents are being jeopardized.
"Being the world's richest man doesn't give you the right to pollute Black communities and jeopardize the health of their residents. We urge the health department to step in immediately," Johnson was quoted as saying by NBC News.
Colossus supercomputer’s impact on local black communities
The NAACP emphasized the disproportionate environmental burden placed on Black neighborhoods, asserting that the operation of xAI’s methane turbines poses a serious public health threat to communities already facing systemic neglect.
The Colossus supercomputer facility has come under increasing scrutiny due to its energy source, methane gas turbines, used to power high-performance computing functions for artificial intelligence training.
The turbines are meant to provide the energy required for the Colossus supercomputer, the largest of its kind, which has been used to train XAI’s chatbot, Grok. Environmental activists argue that such power generation methods are incompatible with public health and environmental standards.
Colossus was completed in 2024 over just 122 days and currently operates out of Memphis, Tennessee. It was constructed to support the development of Grok, the AI model developed by xAI.
