Musk’s xAI to invest $20bn in a Mississippi data center
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence (AI) company xAI has confirmed its intention to build a third data center in Southaven, Mississippi, and pledged $20 billion to the project.
Steve Jones/Flight by Southwings for SELC
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Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence (AI) company xAI has confirmed its intention to build a third data center in Southaven, Mississippi, and pledged $20 billion to the project.
The data center, which is called MACROHARDRR and will be the company’s third one in the greater Memphis area, was first revealed by Musk in a post on X last month.
xAI has bought a third building called MACROHARDRR. Will take @xAI training compute to almost 2GW.
undefined Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 30, 2025
Try @Grok. Download latest app.
According to Musk’s post, the cluster of data centers will take xAI’s compute power close to 2GW.
Although it’s currently unclear how many GPUs the facility will have, it was previously announced that the company is aiming for a cluster of one million AI chips to run Colossus, currently the world’s largest supercomputer.
“This record-shattering $20 billion investment is an amazing start to what is sure to be another incredible year for economic development in Mississippi,” said state governor Tate Reeves.
“Today, Elon Musk is bringing xAI to DeSoto County, a project that will transform the region and bring amazing opportunities to its residents for generations. This is the largest economic development project in Mississippi’s history. It sets the pace for continued high-tech investments across our state and strengthens Mississippi’s position as a leader in this exciting tech revolution.”
The Mississippi Development Authority has reportedly approved xAI for its Data Center Incentive, which grants a sales and use tax exemption for all computing equipment and software used by firms certified as data centers.
xAI is currently being scrutinized over concerns that emissions from its Colossus supercomputer facility, located near predominantly Black communities in Memphis, contribute to air pollution.
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The company received a 60-day notice of intent to sue from the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), on behalf of the US civil rights organization NAACP.
The SELC, along with dozens of local environmental and community groups, accused xAI of not only “illegally constructing a major source of criteria pollutants” but also failing to obtain the necessary permits under the Clean Air Act to operate them.