Memphis Petition Pushes Back On Elon Musk’s ‘Supercomputer’ Due To Health Concerns

The petition criticizes the majority of city and county leaders who allowed the 'supercomputer' without considering the impact on residents' health.

A petition to move billionaire Elon Musk’s xAI supercomputer out of Memphis has more than 4,000 signatures.

Memphis resident Hailey Thomas, an educator, launched the “Push the Supercomputer Out of Memphis” petition on Feb. 19.

In the petition, Thomas criticizes the majority of city and county leaders who allowed the “supercomputer” without considering the impact on residents’ health.

“This facility is going to have a detrimental impact on not South Memphians, but Memphians as a whole,” she wrote.

“South Memphis has a history of experiencing environmental racism,” Thomas continued. “The neighborhood has been targeted by environmental polluters. South Memphis’s cancer rate is 4 times higher than the national average. We also see effects such as an elevated asthma rate, failing air quality, and a life expectancy that is 10 years lower in contrast to the rest of the city.”

Thomas is not wrong. According to a report from Science Direct, Southwest Memphis is surrounded by fossil fuel-burning, steel, refining, and food-processing industries that pose higher risks to residents. Scientists who tested the air toxins in Memphis found concentrations of “many compounds” in the sample collections higher than those measured in many industrial communities throughout the U.S.

The Concerns With Musk’s xAI Supercomputer in Memphis

Thomas’ most significant concern is that the facility runs on gas turbines.

According to the Commercial Appeal, the Memphis City Council approved a 13-acre land deal with CTC Property, an affiliate of xAI. The land will be used to build the company’s estimated $80 million “Colossus Water Recycle Plant.”

In September 2024, the 100,000-chip supercomputer Colossus officially went online. The facility requires significant energy, including a reported 300 megawatts of electricity to power the facility. Initial estimates for the site were half of that. As a result, Memphis Light, Gas, and Water (MLGW) is building a substation to meet the initial demand of 150 megawatts. In the meantime, xAI is using temporary gas turbines so the facility can meet its energy demand. CTC Property filed an application for an operating permit for 15 gas turbines with the Shelby County Health Department earlier this year.

The permit would allow for 24/7 usage of the gas turbines, the Commercial Appeal reports. CTC filed the application for the turbines and cites the reason as MLGW failing to meet its facility needs. According to CTC’s application, the turbines have an emissions output for controlled and uncontrolled hazardous air pollutants (HAP) of 11.61 tons per year.

If approved by the Shelby County Department of Health, gas turbine usage will increase from 364 days to continuous from June 2025 through June 2026.

That’s a problem for Thomas, who says air pollution from the xAI facility has substantial health implications for a region already plagued with air quality issues from other processing industries.

“These turbines essentially omit smog into the atmosphere,” said Thomas. “Overall, the air quality, water access, and grid stability will be compromised.”