The xAI Files
An ongoing investigation into the xAI data centers in Memphis and Southaven, and the agencies that were supposed to be watching them.
30 pieces
Were xAI’s turbines legal? Let’s look at the records
Shelby County asked EPA to put its 364-day turbine rule in writing. EPA asked the county for a list of the machines. The record shows neither answer arriving.
Who told EPA that xAI’s turbines need a permit? The turbine industry did.
The companies that build portable gas turbines told EPA that machines like the ones at xAI's sites need air permits. Shelby County and Mississippi told the public the opposite. The industry's own lawyer put it in writing.
Did the University of Memphis just settle the xAI air fight?
The study told the council pollution mostly went down. Its own limitations slide says there are no field monitoring data for Southwest Memphis at all.
How did 68 of xAI’s turbines get into Mississippi with no permit?
Memphis fought about the turbines it could see. A bigger power plant went up seven tenths of a mile away on one email - and the agency that said yes told me it hadn't been out to look.
An update on the air around xAI’s Colossus 1
The Shelby County Health Department's first statement on the South Memphis air monitor, what EPA's own grant file says instead, and the road the mayor paused.
News update: Texas readers named the site, and it’s Grimes County
I posted this on Facebook on September 7. It lives here too so it’s on the record. This morning I told you xAI’s job listing for a gas power plant had moved from Memphis to Texas, and nobody would say where. Three folks gave me some leads in the comments. I spent the afternoon checking,…
News update: a SpaceXAI job listing for a Doosan gas plant moved from Memphis to Texas
I posted this on Facebook on September 7. It lives here too so it’s on the record. Hey Texas, this one’s for you. Last week I wrote about how xAI’s job listings tell you what the company’s doing before the company does. Another one just turned up, but this one is in Texas. A Korean…
Who pays for xAI’s power?
Sixteen data centers, a 1.28 million gallon cap, a $152 million check to TVA, and 15 orders to cut back - what MLGW's CEO told the council, and what the records say.
xAI’s Tesla Megapacks sit over the aquifer. Shelby County never planned for them.
The xAI files Every essay in this series is pinned to a question on the board at rachelandthecity.com/the-xai-files. I’ve said it before and I will say it again. I don’t think anyone is paying attention to the xAI data center issue that is the most immediately dangerous. Elon Musk built fields of giant batteries on…
The Latest on the Data Center Moratorium
Twelve months, no new data center permits. The council's own attorney named two ways the pause could end early, and nobody will sign the survey going around.
News update: the Justice Department asks for a written ruling by September 10
The government asked the judge to put her no in writing by September 10 so it can appeal. The NAACP can win this round and still end up waiting.
xAI is hiring for positions that should have been filled already
The xAI files Every essay in this series is pinned to a question on the board at rachelandthecity.com/the-xai-files. Independent outlets have covered the Megapacks as hardware and the turbine issues - but I have not found anyone that has written about the battery safety, fire-oversight gap - except me. I’ll circle back soon and explain…