Elon Musk's xAI to build $20 billion data center in Mississippi

Key Points

1.$20 billion investment: Elon Musk’s xAI will build the MACROHARDRR data center in Southaven, Mississippi — the largest private investment in the state — as part of a Memphis-area cluster the company says will house the world’s largest supercomputer with 2 gigawatts of computing power.

2.Environmental and community opposition: the NAACP, the Southern Environmental Law Center and local groups have raised air-pollution and environmental-justice concerns tied to xAI’s Memphis-area facilities, and a Southaven petition against the developments has more than 900 signatures.

3.Generous incentives: under a 2024 data-center law Mississippi will waive state sales, corporate income and franchise taxes and local authorities agreed to substantially reduced property taxes, while officials say the project will bring hundreds of permanent jobs and thousands of indirect positions.

4.Timing and responses: xAI did not immediately answer questions about environmental concerns, the governor’s office says environmental responsibility is a “core commitment,” and operations in Southaven are expected to begin next month.

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