Mississippi man says noise from data centre plant is 'torture.' But he won't sell his home to Musk's SpaceXSI

Jason Haley is a plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit against Elon Musk's AI company, alleging excessive noise pollution from a plant built to power the data centres that train the large language model Grok. Now the company is sending realtors door-to-door with letters offering to buy people's homes in exchange for agreeing not to join lawsuit.

Company offering buyouts to dissuade people from joining class action over noise pollution

Sheena Goodyear · CBC News

· Posted: Oct 30, 2026 5:44 PM EDT | Last Updated: October 30

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Jason Haley says he's barely slept since August of last year, when the noises began. 

At his home in Southaven, Miss., he describes an incessant thrum that sounds like a train rushing past or an airplane flying overhead, intermittently punctuated by high-pitched squeal. He can hear it inside and out, day and night. It pierces through his earplugs and roars over his box fan.

And it all comes from a plant built less than one kilometre from his home to power massive data centres in Mississippi and Tennessee, owned by SpaceXSI, Elon Musk's AI company.

"I've described this as torture," Haley told As It Happens host Nil Kӧksal. "It's driving [me] nuts."

LISTEN | Interview with class-action plaintiff Jason Haley:

As It Happens6:51Mississippi man says noise from SpaceXSI data centre plant is 'torture'

Haley is one of three plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit against SpaceXSI, previously known as SpaceXAI or xAI. Filed in June in a U.S. district court , it claims the plant is a public nuisance that's inflicting emotional distress on residents. 

If the lawsuit is successful, between 8,000 and 10,000 residents could be eligible for financial compensation. 

MZX Tech, LLC, an affiliate of the SpaceXSI group of companies, has denied the lawsuit's allegations. Now it is sending realtors door-to-door with letters offering to buy people's homes in exchange for agreeing not to join it.

Miner, Barnhill & Galland, the law firm behind the class-action, declined to comment publicly on the case, but addressed the buyout offers on its website. 

"As the attorneys bringing the xAI lawsuit, we believe no resident should have to leave their home and community because of the actions of xAI and MZX," the lawyers said. 

SpaceXSI did not respond to multiple requests for comment through its parent company, SpaceX.

Lawsuit says SpaceXAI 'putting profits over people'

The plant near Haley's house uses a combination of mobile and permanent gas turbines, which are the source of the noise, as well as what experts describe as harmful air pollutants. It's built to power SpaceXSI data centres that train the company's AI tools, including the large language model Grok.

SpaceXSI has three data centres in the area — Colossus I and Colossus II over the state line in Memphis, Tenn., and MACROHARDRR, which is under construction in Southaven.

"Companies like Defendants are rushing to construct massive data centers and power-generation facilities, siting them in quiet residential areas like Southaven, Mississippi, and subjecting residents to near-constant noise, vibrations, and other nuisance-level harms," the lawsuit says. 

"It is a textbook example of putting profits over people, with corporate interests trampling residents' fundamental right to use and enjoy their property."

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Since he joined the class-action, Haley says people have accused him of having a "politically charged agenda" against Musk and his companies.

"I'm like, 'look, that's got nothing to do with it,'" he said. "I don't care whose project this is. The problem is the noise."

Data centres have been a huge point of contention in Canada, with projects in Alberta, Nova Scotia, Quebec and Ontario all facing public backlash. 

Renter says buyout offer got her evicted

According to a letter obtained by Fox affiliate, Action News 5, MZX Tech is offering to buy houses near the Southaven plant in exchange for “among other things, a release of all claims."

That means that, if the class action is certified, sellers would be required opt out, and agree not to bring forward any new claims.

A resident speaks during a public meeting discussing the operation of gas-powered turbines at a SpaceXSI data centre in Southaven, Miss., on Feb. 17, 2026. (Adrian Sainz/The Associated Press)

Haley says he's already spoken to several neighbours who have decided to take the offer.

"But then you have a lot of people that you know, fixed income or, you know or elderly that really just don't have the energy and money and abilities to go out and get a new house," he said.

Danielle Dillard, a single mother of four, told the Mississippi Daily Journal that she's being evicted from her home after her landlord took the buyout. 

She's crowdfunding to cover the costs of the sudden move, and wrote on GoFundMe: "This has turned our lives upside down."

Mayor backs SpaceXSI

Southaven Mayor Darren Musselwhite addressed the buyout offers in a blog post earlier this month. 

He said that he's been working with MZX to mitigate noise levels, including "ongoing conversion of temporary turbines to quieter permanent ones."

"The residential property buyout is not an option to replace this resolution, but a parallel approach by them as a good corporate citizen," Musselwhite wrote.

He said the project will bring "hundreds of new jobs for our local workforce," but added that MZX will also need to bring in "specialized personnel," who will live in the purchased homes.

Gas turbines are seen outside the SpaceXSI data centre in Memphis, Tenn., one of three in the region built to train AI tools, including the large language model Grok. (George Walker IV/The Associated Press)

Musselwhite said the company has "never violated the city’s noise ordinance," which limits noise at 70 decibels.

However, Haley has shared videos with CBC in which a handheld device detects noise levels as high as 72 decibels outside his home. He also posts those videos online. 

The lawsuit alleges the plant "regularly exceeds" the city noise ordinance, and notes the World Health Organization recommends nighttime decibels of 40 or less.

The mayor did not respond to questions from CBC about the lawsuit, noise levels or impacts of the buyouts on renters.

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Haley says he doesn't hold any ill-will against his neighbours who choose to take the money, but he intends to stay in his home of 20 years. 

"This is my community," he said. "And now I'm supposed to just, because I've been tortured and driven out, take whatever they're gonna give me and get the hell out of dodge and start over somewhere else?"

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sheena Goodyear is a web journalist with CBC Radio's As It Happens in Toronto. She is equally comfortable tackling complex and emotionally difficult stories that hold truth to power, or spinning quirky yarns about the weird and wonderful things people get up to all over the world. She has a particular passion for science communication, and stories from LGBTQ communities. Originally from Newfoundland and Labrador, her work has appeared on CBC News, Sun Media, the Globe & Mail, the Toronto Star, VICE News and more. You can reach her at sheena.goodyear@cbc.ca