MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – A coalition of local leaders, labor unions and community members rallied in protest of Elon Musk’s supercomputers on Friday, calling for the removal of xAI from Memphis and urging leaders to put citizens above corporations.

Main concerns include pollution and energy consumption from Musk’s two Memphis facilities, as well as what some consider a lack of transparency from city officials regarding xAI’s developments and community benefits.

Just last week, on April 23, Musk gave investors a tour in Memphis as part of his global marketing launch for SpaceX’s $2 trillion dollar Initial Public Offering (IPO)—the largest corporate transaction in history.

“We know xAI is about to contaminate our water, contaminate our air,” said Keith Caldwell, president of the Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope (MICAH).

xAI announced in early April that it had halted progress on a Memphis water recycling plant that would take the treated wastewater from the City of Memphis and transform it into a coolant for its Collosus 1 supercomputer.

The greywater plant will cost about $80 million to build.

“We don’t think they’re going to build a treatment plant,” said Caldwell, “People did a protest today… this thing about letting them come in and ride roughshod over people, we have a say, and we’ve had all these people come out and say, ‘We will not take this lying down, and people united shall never be divided.’”

May 1 marks May Day, also known as International Workers’ Day, which celebrates workers and labor unions.

Friday’s rally included state Representative Justin Pearson (D-Memphis); NAACP Memphis President Kermit Moore; Keshaun Pearson, Justin’s brother and the executive director of Memphis Communities Against Pollution (MCAP); and Rebekkah Gorbea, statewide coordinator for Tennessee for All.

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