MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – Environmental group Memphis Community Against Pollution hosted a one-on-one discussion with Memphis mayor Paul Young about the expansion of the Elon Musk-founded xAI into Southwest Memphis.

Riverside Missionary Baptist Church in Whitehaven was filled with Memphis residents looking to hear Mayor Young’s thoughts, as well as share their concerns about emissions from the supercomputer facility polluting their air.

“We do know that he does hear from the community and he is concerned,” says KeShaun Pearson, president of MCAP. “Some folks are still frustrated. We still have too many questions and not enough answers. We have a lot of plans, but we don’t have a lot of action.”

MCAP shared their concern with Young over the 18 methane gas turbines currently powering the facility. These turbines are known to emit toxic gases, but Mayor Young says these turbines have the latest technology to minimize the spread of emissions.

Mayor Young received some pushback from the crowd on his position that xAI would help the city grow, arguing the tax revenue generated would be used to address the needs of Memphis, specifically in 38109.

“I wanna figure out how we can exploit this project for us,” Mayor Young told the audience. “I know you feel like it’s us getting exploited, but we need to speak from a place of strength.”

A point of discussion was made on the history of toxic-polluting facilities impacting residents in Southwest Memphis. MCAP says there are 17 such facilities, and they are to blame for the high rate of asthma-related deaths in Shelby County.

Mayor Young says the Shelby County Health Department is still reviewing the environmental impact of xAI’s turbines.

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