Musk's data centers push out family that's owned land for generations

On a 2-acre spot successful Mississippi, 52-year-old Krystal Polk's household lived disconnected the onshore for generations, raising chickens and pigs, increasing onions and herbs and trading their peaches for pears.

The land, connected the borderline with Tennessee successful the metropolis of Southaven, was her family's survival, Polk said. "We lived a precise simplistic life," she told CBS News.

While beingness determination whitethorn person been elemental successful Polk's view, the circumstances surrounding her location seldom ever were. Her household acquired the property "before radical of colour were allowed to person land," she said, and it's been passed down for 4 generations. When Polk's parents archetypal moved in, they discovered "KKK" scrawled astatine the bottommost of the elevation of their property, she said. 

Holding connected to the onshore was made much hard a twelvemonth agone erstwhile a noisy neighbour appeared crossed the thoroughfare — a powerfulness works truthful loud, it drove the household away. Since then, the onshore has sat mostly empty, occupied lone by an unrelenting hum.

The plant, which is powering Elon Musk's SpaceXAI information centers successful the Memphis area, has sparked backlash from Southaven residents acrophobic astir sound and aerial pollution. A petition by the resident-run Safe and Sound Coalition calling to unopen down the powerfulness works has implicit 1,400 signatures. 

Polk said she remembers erstwhile she could perceive the birds chirping astatine her household home. Now, she said the plant's "constant roaring" lingers successful her ears adjacent aft she leaves.

"It's similar you're successful the mediate of the airdrome wherever the planes are taking off, but they ne'er instrumentality off," she said.

SpaceXAI, formerly known arsenic xAI, precocious said successful a July press release that it is investing millions of dollars successful dependable walls and silencers with "advanced quieting technologies" astir the plant. Southaven residents person told CBS News that 1 dependable partition installed truthful acold has provided small reprieve from the noise. 

"We gathered there"

Over the people of 2 years, Musk has expanded his footprint successful the Memphis portion starting with the operation of his Colossus 1 information halfway conscionable northbound of Southaven successful 2024. By January 2026, 2 much information centers were announced. This July, Musk quietly confirmed the operation of different section information center, "Minihard," successful a reply to a station connected his level X.

Musk's SpaceXAI projects volition full much than $20 billion successful investments to Southaven, which Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said successful a property merchandise volition "bring astonishing opportunities to its residents for generations."

But for Polk, the improvement has meant a caller benignant of strain connected her family. 

"We don't cognize the future," she said. "So we're not definite what to put into it."

Polk moved distant from the household location aft getting married, and for years, it bounced betwixt relatives. It was wherever Polk churned her ain crystal pick arsenic a child, held her rehearsal meal erstwhile she got joined and hosted the holidays each year.

"We gathered determination and we thanked God for what we had," she said. "It was ever a celebration."

She planned to instrumentality arsenic a retiree and yet walk the spot down to her children. But now, those plans person been enactment connected hold. Apart from the "24/7" noise, Polk said she and her household person asthma and are acrophobic astir fumes from the state turbines astatine the plant. 

"I'm acrophobic that we volition beryllium the ones that everyone looks backmost connected and says, 'Hey, retrieve they tried to archer america that these things were hazardous to our wellness and causing harm,'" Polk said. "I'm acrophobic that we're going to beryllium those casualties."

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and different groups sued xAI and its subsidiary MZX Tech successful April, alleging that the works "emits important amounts of harmful pollutants." 

In June, SpaceXAI filed a question to disregard the case, and the Department of Justice besides moved to intervene and dismiss the case. The Justice Department said successful a connection that the substance "concerns nationalist information and Mississippi's lawful enactment regarding permitting" and that the NAACP's suit "could hinder the War Department's usage of AI for nationalist defense."

CBS News reached retired to SpaceXAI aggregate times for remark and has not heard back.

The institution has entered into an statement with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality that includes removing the 69 impermanent turbines astatine the works and replacing them with 41 imperishable turbines implicit the people of a year. 

But a study conducted by EmPower Analytics Group recovered that the program to instal dozens of state turbines would summation aerial contamination successful the country and would beryllium concentrated successful communities that are disproportionately Black. The survey was commissioned by the Southern Environmental Law Center, which is co-counsel for the plaintiffs successful the NAACP's suit against xAI and MZX Tech.

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality said successful a connection that it doesn't remark connected "third-party reports oregon matters progressive successful pending litigation" and that it "remains committed to carrying retired its work to support nationalist wellness and the situation done implementation and enforcement of applicable authorities and national biology laws and regulations."

MDEQ said that arsenic portion of the permitting process, MZX Tech was required to show that the projected installation would not interruption aerial prime standards.

Still, residents are not convinced. Shannon Samsa, a 27-year-old doc adjunct surviving successful Southaven, is acrophobic astir the plant's interaction connected her community's health. She's go an outspoken advocator against the plant, speaking up astatine metropolis meetings and starring the Safe and Sound Coalition arsenic its director.

"It's not conscionable my neighbors, it's not conscionable my household and friends, it's my aboriginal patients," she said. "It's besides a immense healthcare issue."

Priceless property

As SpaceXAI extends its scope successful the region, the aboriginal of Polk's spot hangs successful the balance. Some companies person expressed involvement successful purchasing it.

Polk said she was approached by existent property steadfast Cushman & Wakefield Commercial Advisors with an offer. After aggregate "nos" implicit the people of weeks, she said she yet filed a Better Business Bureau complaint, accusing the institution of harassment and manipulation. 

In the complaint, reviewed by CBS News, Polk alleged the steadfast tried to coerce her into agreeing to services. 

Cushman & Wakefield Commercial Advisors, successful effect to the complaint, said it was exploring the imaginable acquisition of Polk's onshore connected behalf of a client, who was not identified. The steadfast confirmed it made aggregate attempts to interaction Polk "by phone, substance and written correspondence," but denied engaging successful "harassment, unit tactics, oregon inappropriate conduct." 

Polk said the institution has not reached retired since she filed the complaint. She declined to disclose the firm's offer, but said that "it was not worthy anything."

Selling the onshore is analyzable — keeping it was her father's dying wish, Polk said. 

"He asked maine to delight support it arsenic overmuch arsenic I could wrong reason," she said. "I'm not definite if you could connection a value."

Editor's note: This communicative has been updated to clarify the sanction of the existent property firm. It has besides been updated with further inheritance connected the survey commissioned by the Southern Environmental Law Center, 

In:

• Data Centers
• Artificial Intelligence