A subsidiary of Elon Musk’s xAI is offering to buy homes in a Southaven, Mississippi neighbourhood on the condition that owners do not join a lawsuit aimed at the company’s nearby data centre and power plant. The buyout push sits at the centre of a growing dispute over the xAI Mississippi data center, where residents say industrial noise and vibration have become a daily burden.
Buyout offers tied to lawsuit waivers
The offers are being made through MZX, an xAI subsidiary. In a letter sent to several households, MZX denied the allegations against it but said it needs property for its business and is willing to purchase real estate in Southaven through a broker. In return, it asked sellers to release claims tied to the plant and to the residents’ case, referred to as the Haley action.
Anyone who signs that release would give up the right to seek damages or other relief through that lawsuit, and could not bring related claims on their own, the letter explained. A realtor going door to door in the neighbourhood told one resident that the company planned to purchase 418 homes and that 18 owners already intended to sell.
What residents and renters face
The lawsuit that the buyouts are meant to keep people out of was filed by three residents. They accuse the large data centre and its gas-fired turbines of producing “near-constant noise” and vibrations. Renters in the area say they are already being pushed out: after landlords agreed to sell, tenants have been given 60 days’ notice to leave.
Southaven sits just over the Tennessee border from Memphis, where xAI has also built large “Colossus” facilities. The company has expanded its computing footprint in the region over the past couple of years, bringing a data centre and an accompanying power plant to Southaven as part of that buildout.
Wider legal pressure on the project
Besides the residents’ case, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has sued xAI, saying the company is running dozens of unpermitted methane gas turbines in Southaven. Earlier this month, a federal judge blocked an attempt by the Trump administration to have that lawsuit dismissed.
Political debate over AI infrastructure has sharpened ahead of the US midterm elections. Last week, Memphis City Council rejected a one-year freeze on AI data-centre development and instead passed a measure that would pause construction for 135 days. Mississippi’s governor earlier this year highlighted plans for more than $20 billion of related investment in the area. Reports also say the company faces up to $6.1 million in potential civil penalties for environmental-law violations, and more than $220 million in claims over unpaid bills for work at the Memphis and Southaven sites.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- Earlier in 2026: Mississippi’s governor publicly backed plans for more than $20 billion of investment linked to the project area.
- Past couple of years: xAI expanded regional capacity, including Colossus sites in Memphis and a data centre plus power plant in Southaven.
- Early October 2026: A federal judge blocked an attempt to dismiss the NAACP’s turbine-permitting lawsuit.
- Late October 2026: Memphis City Council voted down a one-year AI data-centre moratorium and adopted a 135-day construction pause instead.
- 28 October 2026: Reports emerged that MZX is offering to buy Southaven homes—reportedly up to 418—if owners waive claims in the noise dispute.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Elon Musk ki company xAI ke paas Southaven, Mississippi mein ek bada data center aur power plant hai. Company ke subsidiary MZX paas ke ghar kharidne ki offer de rahi hai, lekin bechne walon ko noise wale lawsuit se alag hona hoga. Kirayedar bata rahe hain ke malik ke bechne ke baad unhen 60 din ki notice mil rahi hai. Seedha matlab yeh hai ke yeh jhagra data center aur turbines ke shor se shuru hua hai, aur ab ghar kharid kar case kamzor karne ki koshish ho rahi hai.
