xAI Targets 418 Homes in Mississippi Neighborhood Amid Noise Dispute

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company is attempting to purchase a large portion of a residential neighborhood in Southaven, Mississippi, following complaints about noise from a nearby power plant.

Real estate agents representing xAI have been contacting homeowners in the Colonial Hills neighborhood, located on the western edge of Southaven. According to a recording of a conversation between a realtor and a resident, the company aims to buy 418 homes. As of the report, 18 homeowners have agreed to sell. xAI did not respond to questions regarding these specific numbers or its long-term plans for the area.

The offers come with a specific condition. Agents are touting deals that require sellers to agree not to join a lawsuit against the company over the power plant’s noise. This legal strategy appears designed to reduce the number of plaintiffs in a case filed in June by three residents who alleged they suffer from near-constant noise, vibrations, and other nuisance-level harms caused by the facility.

The neighborhood is situated near one of three vast data centers xAI has constructed since July 2024. These facilities, named Colossus I, Colossus II, and MACROHARDRR, are located in Memphis and Southaven. Southaven borders Memphis, a city already involved in a separate legal dispute regarding pollution from a supercomputer facility owned by the company. The average home price in Southaven is approximately $180,000, a figure that represents a small capital outlay for the world’s wealthiest individual.

Residents describe the impact of the power plant on their daily lives. Jason Haley, one of the plaintiffs in the June lawsuit and a resident for 20 years, described the sound as a high-pitched hum followed by a noise similar to an airplane overhead. He stated that the noise is so torturous that he often cannot sleep, forcing him to leave the house or play music until he collapses from exhaustion.

Elizabeth Rose, another resident who is not part of the lawsuit, provided a similar account. She described the sound as continuous and incredibly loud, comparable to an airplane engine. Rose noted that she has been woken at 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. by the noise, sometimes feeling compelled to leave her home because it makes her angry.

xAI has previously stated its intention to be a good neighbor and denies all claims made in the noise lawsuit. The company, which officially became SpaceXAI in July and has recently rebranded as SpaceXSI, continues to expand its infrastructure in the region while managing local community relations through these property purchases.