Elon Musk’s Memphis Takeover — The Marvels And Messiness Of SpaceX’s AI Buildout

Elon Musk's xAI, now known as SpaceXAI following a merger with SpaceX, has made the Memphis, Tennessee area the center of its AI ambitions. XAI is building three data centers there, as well as a power plant in Southaven, Mississippi. XAI's AI infrastructure there truly deserves its name Colossus. It's a modern marvel that was built with breakneck speed. Anthropic and Google are now renting compute capacity at the data centers in a deals worth billions of dollars. But some say the buildout has been chaotic. XAI is now facing multiple lawsuits accusing the company of using loud, pollution-emitting gas turbines, some without the required Clean Air Act permits. CNBC traveled to Memphis and Southaven to speak with locals to learn why the data centers are such a flashpoint, to find out why backlash against data centers is spreading nationwide, and to learn what hyperscalers can do to win support as they race to build AI infrastructure. Chapters: 00:00 - 3:54 Introduction 3:55 - 10:28 SpaceX’s AI ambitions 10:29 - 17:02 Gas-burning turbines 17:03 - 20:28 Constant noise 20:29 - 22:37 Millions of gallons of water 22:38 - 28:59 Growing AI backlash Senior Director: Jeniece Pettitt Reporter: Lora Kolodny Camera and Additional Editing: Andrew Evers Edited by: Marisa Forziati Animation: Jason Reginato, Emily Park VP, Executive Producer: Kamelia Angelova Senior Technology Editor: Ari Levy Bureau Chief: Christina Passariello » Subscribe to CNBC: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBC » Subscribe to CNBC TV: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCtelevision About CNBC: From 'Wall Street' to 'Main Street' to award winning original documentaries and Reality TV series, CNBC has you covered. Experience special sneak peeks of your favorite shows, exclusive video and more. Want to get ahead at work? Then you need to learn how to make effective small talk. In CNBC’s new online course, How To Talk To People At Work, expert instructors teach you how to use everyday conversation to gain visibility, build meaningful relationships and advance your career. Sign up now: https://cnb.cx/4sGlSkh Connect with CNBC News Online Get the latest news: https://www.cnbc.com/ Follow CNBC on LinkedIn: https://cnb.cx/LinkedInCNBC Follow CNBC News on Instagram: https://cnb.cx/InstagramCNBC Follow CNBC News on Facebook: https://cnb.cx/LikeCNBC Follow CNBC on Threads: https://cnb.cx/threads Follow CNBC News on X: https://cnb.cx/FollowCNBC Follow CNBC on WhatsApp: https://cnb.cx/WhatsAppCNBC #CNBC How Memphis Became The Epicenter Of SpaceX’s AI Ambitions