“Tennessee is the best state in the nation to do business, and xAI’s Memphis facility is proof that innovative companies thrive when entrepreneurs like Elon Musk choose to set up shop in our state.”
That was Senator (and current gubernatorial candidate) Marsha Blackburn in May 2025, responding to the news that Musk’s xAI’s data center was coming to Memphis.
Contrast that statement with what Marsha had to say last week about a proposed data center in Nashville: “Tennessee should be thoughtful and considerate when deciding where data centers are located. The proposed site near the Nashville Zoo is neither. Let’s revisit this placement.”
Oh, now she gets interested in data center placement. I guess Blackburn wants to make sure those Nashville kangaroos, elephants, and zebras don’t get exposed to any possible ill effects. Blackburn, as usual, is closely watching which way the wind is blowing, and in Nashville it has clearly changed directions.
In Memphis, business leaders conducted secret negotiations with Musk and his representatives for weeks. Some leaders at the Memphis Chamber even signed non-disclosure agreements about the deal and it got done with virtually no public input from the citizens of Memphis — or from the city council or county commission. The business leaders appeared thrilled with the deal they’d quietly pulled off with the world’s richest man. “He likes us!” they seemed to say. “He really likes us!”
Now the citizens of South Memphis and northern Mississippi are paying a real price for that closed-door deal: ill health effects from the dozens of illegal gas-fired turbines now powering Musk’s centers, and plummeting property values as a result of noise and air pollution. They’ve filed numerous lawsuits, they’ve called on the EPA for help, they’ve demanded that local elected leaders fight for them — all to no avail. Musk is doing whatever he wants and too many Memphis leaders appear unwilling to speak up for the rights — and health — of their constituents.
Musk initially pledged to build a wastewater recycling plant to cool his computers, then after a few months, blithely backed off with a vague promise to do it at some point down the line. Until then, the facilities will continue using millions and millions of gallons of Memphis’ pure aquifer water to cool computer hardware. What a waste of a precious resource.
And here’s the real kicker: Musk just became the world’s first trillionaire. His net worth is larger than the economies of 176 countries around the globe. It’s not like he can’t afford to build his own damn wastewater facility. He can also afford to build his own power plant, instead of using noisy, polluting methane-fired engines. But he doesn’t care. And why should he if no one will stand up to him?
It’s a different story in Nashville, where pushback against a proposed data center has been gaining support from citizens and city leaders alike. Mayor Freddie O’Connell issued an executive order directing city departments to study impacts of any such facility. The Metro City Council will pause permits for data centers, pending the results of the studies. Even MAGA-Marsha is backing off the deal.
“We don’t want the potential negative impacts of large-scale data centers in our neighborhoods,” said O’Connell, “so in partnership with the Metro Council, we’re taking action to ensure we put proper regulations in place before any more of these things are proposed. We’ll work to ensure Nashville remains a place where our residents’ health and safety always come first.”
What a concept! Putting residents’ health and safety over the profits of billionaires. Crazy, huh? Here’s another concept Memphis leaders should consider: Stand up for what’s right for the residents of your city and play hardball. Musk just took SpaceX (and xAI) stock public. In issuing the stock, the company had to add a caveat that an adverse decision in any pending lawsuits could negatively impact stock value. What do you think would happen to that stock price if the city of Memphis threatened to pause the water and power supply to xAI’s headquarters facility?
I don’t know the answer to that question, to be honest, but I do know that Elon Musk — the world’s richest effing man — isn’t hesitating to screw over Mid-South residents who are suffering the ill effects of his unmitigated greed. So maybe, just maybe, someone at City Hall could make a call and say: “Nice little data center you got there, Elon. Be a shame if someone were to shut the water off.”
