Musk’s xAI and SpaceX Face Class Action Over Data Centre Noise ‘Nuisance’

Elon Musk’s xAI and SpaceX have been sued by Mississippi residents who claim a power plant supplying nearby data centres is generating “omnipresent and inescapable” noise that has damaged their health and reduced home values.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Oxford, Mississippi and made public on Tuesday, alleges that Musk’s companies negligently failed to control the disturbance and created a public nuisance through excessive and offensive noise. Three residents have brought the case on behalf of a proposed class estimated at more than 10,000 members.

“The artificial intelligence (AI) boom is wreaking havoc on communities across the United States,” the complaint states, alleging that thousands of residents are being subjected to near-constant noise and vibrations.

The plaintiffs are seeking damages for alleged emotional distress, loss in property value and other harms, as well as disgorgement of an unspecified amount of profits.

xAI, SpaceX and xAI subsidiary MZX Tech, which is also named as a defendant, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Musk is not a defendant in the case.

A lawyer for the plaintiffs, Robert Wiygul, said in a statement: “Our homes are supposed to be a sanctuary for us against the world, but when they are invaded by noise 24 hours a day, it takes that fundamental peace of a good and decent life away from us.”

The complaint states that xAI invested more than $20 billion to build the plant in Southaven, with backing from Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves. It alleges that gas-fired turbines at the site power data centres in and around Southaven.

The NAACP filed a separate lawsuit against xAI in April over the plant and data centres, accusing the company of breaching US environmental regulations. That case is ongoing.

The US Department of Justice indicated in a court filing last month that it may intervene in the NAACP case, saying the dispute raises legal and policy questions about the government’s role in AI infrastructure.

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