Anthropic · Google · SpaceX · Elon Musk · xAI · DOJ · CNBC Technology
DOJ assists Musk's xAI in NAACP air pollution suit, asks court to toss case
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With SpaceX 's stock rocketing during its first three days of trading, Elon Musk's company is getting an assist from the Department of Justice, which asked a federal court in Mississippi to toss a case against the company brought by the NAACP.
Key facts
- The DOJ said that during the Iran war, the military version of xAI's Grok had "enabled U.S. forces to deploy over 2,000 munitions to 2,000 distinct targets within 96 hours, a testament to the greatly
- In May, Gallup released poll results that found seven in 10 Americans oppose constructing data centers for AI in their local area, including nearly half, 48%, who are strongly opposed
- Earth Justice, one of the law firms representing the NAACP, told CNBC in an emailed statement that the "DOJ wants to give itself veto power over citizen suits, a key legal tool used to protect
- SpaceX held its long-awaited Nasdaq debut on Friday, topping $2 trillion in market cap
Summary
The suit was filed in April by the NAACP, which claimed that xAI, Musk's artificial intelligence lab now owned by SpaceX, violated the federal Clean Air Act by using dozens of methane gas-burning turbines to power its AI data centers without proper permits or pollution controls. The NAACP more recently asked the court to issue an injunction stopping xAI from using the turbines until a judge can decide. SpaceX's Colossus 1 and 2 data centers in and around Memphis, Tennessee, along with the power plants linked to those facilities, have faced protests for more than a year over issues including air pollution, electricity and water consumption and noise around the facilities.