xAI is buying out homeowners who promise not to sue over data center noise
xAI and its subsidiary MZX are reportedly offering to buy hundreds of homes around Southaven, Mississippi.
xAI and its subsidiary MZX are reportedly offering to buy hundreds of homes around Southaven, Mississippi.
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is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.
A subsidiary of Elon Musk’s xAI is offering to buy up homes in a Mississippi neighborhood, as long as residents don’t join a lawsuit targeting the company’s nearby data center and power plant, according to a report from The Guardian. A realtor going door-to-door in the Southaven neighborhood reportedly told one resident that xAI plans to purchase 418 homes, adding that 18 homeowners already have plans to sell. People who rent homes in the area report they’re already being forced out, with 60 days’ notice after their landlords agreed to sell.
A recent report from the Mississippi Free Press includes a letter received by several households recently, reading in part:
MZX denies all of the allegations against it. However, because MZX also requires property for its business purposes, MZX, through its real estate broker, is offering to purchase real estate in Southaven in exchange for, among other things, a release of all claims related to the lawsuit. If you decide to accept MZX’s offer, MZX will ask you to sign a real estate contract under which you will agree to execute a separate release agreement at the closing of the real estate transaction.
Importantly, by executing the Release Agreement, you will be releasing possible claims you might have related to the Southaven Plant, including any claims you may have in connection with the Haley action. After executing the Release Agreement, you will be unable to recover any damages or other relief from the Haley lawsuit, and you will also be unable to bring claims on your own behalf. The Release Agreement provides further details on which claims would be released.
As reported by The Guardian, xAI offered to purchase the homes if the owners don’t join a lawsuit filed by three residents, who accuse the company’s massive data center and gas-fired turbines of emitting “near-constant noise” and vibrations. xAI has ramped up its data center buildout over the past couple of years, constructing two sprawling “Colossus” facilities in Memphis, while bringing its “Macrohardrr” data center and an accompanying power plant to Southaven, which is located just over the Tennessee border.
Growing opposition to AI data centers is putting pressure on politicians in the weeks leading up to the midterm elections. Last week, Memphis City Council voted down a one-year moratorium on AI data center development, and instead adopted an ordinance that would pause construction for 135 days. After Mississippi’s governor touted the company’s plan to invest more than $20 billion in the area earlier this year, SpaceXAI recently reported it’s facing up to $6.1 million in potential civil penalties for environmental law violations, along with more than $220 million in claims of unpaid bills for work performed at the Memphis and Southaven sites.
In addition to a lawsuit filed by residents, xAI is also facing legal action from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which accuses the company of operating dozens of unpermitted methane gas turbines in Southaven. A federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to dismiss the lawsuit earlier this month.
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