Three Mississippi residents filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against Elon Musk's xAI and SpaceX, claiming a power plant fueling nearby data centers has subjected thousands of people to relentless noise, according to Al Jazeera.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Oxford, Mississippi, claims the companies negligently failed to control the disturbance and created a public nuisance. The three plaintiffs filed on behalf of a class estimated at more than 10,000 members.
The suit describes the noise as "omnipresent and inescapable" and says it has caused emotional distress and reduced property values.
"The artificial intelligence [AI] boom is wreaking havoc on communities across the United States" by subjecting thousands of residents to near-constant noise and vibrations, the lawsuit said.
Attorney Robert Wiygul, who represents the plaintiffs, described the harm in basic terms. "Our homes are supposed to be a sanctuary for us against the world," Wiygul said. He added that "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 plaintiffs are seeking damages for emotional distress and reduced property values, as well as disgorgement of an unspecified amount in profits. MZX Tech, an xAI subsidiary, was also named as a defendant. Musk himself is not a defendant.
More than $20 billion was invested to build the plant at Southaven with backing from Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves. Gas-fired turbines at the site power data centers in and around Southaven.
The lawsuit is not the first legal challenge to the facility. The NAACP sued xAI in April, accusing the company of violating U.S. environmental rules. That case is still pending. The Department of Justice signaled last month in a court filing that it may intervene, saying the dispute raises questions about the government's role in AI infrastructure.
SpaceX and xAI did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters.
