Mississippi residents sue xAI, SpaceX over nonstop turbine noise in Oxford

Three Mississippi residents asked a federal judge in Oxford to turn their complaints about xAI’s turbine operations into a class action, saying the nonstop noise and vibration have disrupted sleep, daily routines and the enjoyment of homes across a proposed class of more than 10,000 people. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, says xAI and SpaceX created a public nuisance through 24/7 turbine activity tied to a power plant supporting data-center operations in Southaven.

The complaint seeks damages for emotional distress, reduced property values and disgorgement of profits. Attorney Robert Wiygul said homes should be a “sanctuary,” a line that captures the core of the case now before the court in Oxford. Residents say the turbines sound like jet engines running day and night, and one neighbor has described the noise as if an airport runway had opened near his house.

The case adds another legal front around xAI’s Southaven operation, which sits on a 114-acre site across the state line from Memphis. NBC News reported that xAI installed 27 temporary gas turbines there, with nine more arriving in December 2025 to bring the total to 27, and that the company has applied for permits for 41 permanent turbines. NBC also reported that Mississippi’s governor described xAI’s planned spending in the state as the largest private investment in state history, underscoring how quickly the project has become both an economic headline and a neighborhood fight.

Environmental and civil rights groups have already challenged the same turbine setup. The Southern Environmental Law Center and Earthjustice sent xAI a 60-day notice of intent to sue in February over unpermitted methane gas turbines, and the NAACP filed suit on April 14 against xAI and MZX Tech over alleged Clean Air Act violations tied to the Southaven site. The NAACP has said the turbines could emit more than 1,700 tons of smog-forming nitrogen oxides each year, along with up to 180 tons of fine particulate matter, 500 tons of carbon monoxide and 19 tons of formaldehyde.

Those groups have argued the operation has been built near homes, schools and churches and could become the largest industrial source of nitrogen oxides in the greater Memphis area. For Lafayette County and the broader North Mississippi region, the Oxford lawsuit puts a familiar economic tradeoff on display: the pull of major tech investment on one side, and the daily burden of noise, pollution concerns and property damage claims on the other. xAI and SpaceX did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the nuisance suit.