Residents of a Mississippi town are voicing fierce opposition to a plant that powers data centers operated by Elon Musk’s xAI, alleging that “near-constant” noise is causing harmful physical and psychological health effects.
One Southaven resident said the plant is so loud that it keeps her and her family awake at night.
She said a full night’s sleep is rare.
Multiple residents who live near the plant have filed a lawsuit against xAI.
A separate lawsuit filed by the NAACP and others alleges the Southaven plant emits “significant amounts of harmful pollutants from its gas turbines.”One resident, Jason Haley, made noise complaints about the plant to Musselwhite and shared the email exchange with CBS News.
Haley said he reached out to Musselwhite and urged him to drive through the neighborhood “and take a listen to the constant high pitch noises.”
“I am aware of the noise and working on a solution with xAI officials,” Musselwhite responded, according to CBS News.
“It is a problem,” he said in another email.
However, Haley reached back out to Musselwhite.
“Anyone else I can reach out to?” Haley asked Musselwhite.
“It’s almost 4 am and I can hear it from my bed. The high pitch and roaring combined is full force at this time. My ears are ringing. I can’t live in this. How was this ever approved?” Haley wrote, according to the outlet.
CBS News shared further:
When he emailed Musselwhite about the noise again in December, his message came with a disclosure: “I am not a republican or democrat, I don’t care that this is Elon’s project. I didn’t know whose it was when I started complaining about the noise that started in August.”
Musselwhite responded a few days later.
“As I mentioned to you in the public meeting, you seem to be a reasonable person,” he said. “I will give you some unsolicited advice from an older man, be careful with whom you associate so you don’t damage your credibility.”
By January, xAI was expanding its footprint with a third data center in Southaven, MACROHARDDR. As residents like Haley continued pushing back online and in city meetings, Musselwhite had a new message.
Southaven, he said in a Facebook post, was “under attack by all who choose to oppose Elon Musk because of his high-profile political stances.” He warned residents to “beware of the smokescreen of radical politics.”
In his emails to Haley, Musselwhite continued to acknowledge the noise as a problem.
“The noise issue is one of my highest priorities and I have been in detailed discussions with xAI and many independent professionals to resolve this,” he wrote in March.
But in the same email, he offered Haley more advice: “I know they want houses for employees, so you may want to consider selling your home.”
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