The US EPA rules that xAI acted illegally by using dozens of methane gas turbines to power its Colossus 1 and Colossus 2 data centers in the Memphis area
Win for Memphis activists who say ‘Colossus’ facilities add extra pollution to already overburdened communities
Source: xAI is set to spend $18B+ to acquire ~300K more Nvidia chips for its Colossus 2 project in Memphis; in July, Elon Musk said it would total 550K chips
xAI aims to win tech arms race with ‘Colossus’ data centers, thrown up at lightning speed; city divided over massive power and water demands
Memphis grants xAI an air permit to operate 15 gas turbines at its Boxtown campus until 2027, despite protests and a potential NAACP lawsuit over pollution
“This isn't just an environmental issue — it's a public health emergency,” wrote State Rep. Justin Pearson. @wired.com : Colossus allowed xAI to quickly catch up to rivals OpenAI, Google, and Anthropi...
The NAACP plans to sue xAI over a lack of permits for its Memphis data center's gas turbines, which it claims pollute nearby predominantly Black neighborhoods
Hiroko Tabuchi / New York Times :
Trump says a 25%+ tariff “must be paid by Apple” on iPhones not made in the US, and he told Tim Cook long ago that iPhones sold in the US must be made in the US
will other tech companies face the heat? Here's what the US President said The Economic Times : Trump threatens 25% tariff on iPhones not made in US, targets India production Scott Lemieux / Lawyers, ...
Memphis says xAI is using Tesla's 150MW Megapack batteries to shore up its Colossus supercomputer; xAI spent ~$230M on them from January 2024 to February 2025
Elon Musk's xAI is using Tesla Inc.'s Megapack batteries to shore up its “Colossus” supercomputer in Memphis …
Sources: Dell nears a $5B deal to provide servers with Nvidia's GB200 chips for xAI's supercomputer project in Memphis
- Musk's AI startup developing supercomputer project in Memphis — Dell working to win large share of xAI's Memphis build-out — Dell Technologies Inc …
xAI plans to expand its Colossus supercomputer tenfold to incorporate 1M+ GPUs; work has already begun to increase the size of its Memphis, Tennessee facility
Facility in Memphis expected to incorporate more than 1mn GPUs as billionaire's xAI aims to catch up with rivals
Sources: execs at xAI rivals were alarmed by how fast Elon Musk set up the 100K GPU cluster Colossus; a source says Sam Altman argued with Microsoft over it
On a sunny day last month, a propeller plane made multiple passes in the air over a large industrial building surrounded … Bluesky: @niedermeyer.io . X: @sundeep and @anissagardizy8 Bluesky: E.W. Nied...
Environmental and health advocates accuse xAI of adding to pollution in Memphis, TN, by using unauthorized gas burning turbines at its new data center
Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup, xAI, is being accused by environmental and health advocates of adding to the pollution problem in Memphis …