SIGNALDATAAccountability. For the People. Preview
Data center project · Shelby County, Tennessee

xAI Colossus 2

Operating · xAI's second Memphis supercomputer, a 1-million-square-foot former industrial building on Tulane Road that runs mostly on gas turbines across the state line in Southaven, Miss., and is the target of a 2026 NAACP Clean Air Act suit. Also known as: Colossus II, Tulane Road site, Macroharder, Minihard, SpaceXAI Colossus 2.

Read The xAI Colossus File →← Tennessee data centers
Anderson CountyBedford CountyBenton CountyBledsoe CountyBlount CountyBradley CountyCampbell CountyCannon CountyCarroll CountyCarter CountyCheatham CountyChester CountyClaiborne CountyClay CountyCocke CountyCoffee CountyCrockett CountyCumberland CountyDavidson CountyDecatur CountyDeKalb CountyDickson CountyDyer CountyFayette CountyFentress CountyFranklin CountyGibson CountyGiles CountyGrainger CountyGreene CountyGrundy CountyHamblen CountyHamilton CountyHancock CountyHardeman CountyHardin CountyHawkins CountyHaywood CountyHenderson CountyHenry CountyHickman CountyHouston CountyHumphreys CountyJackson CountyJefferson CountyJohnson CountyKnox CountyLake CountyLauderdale CountyLawrence CountyLewis CountyLincoln CountyLoudon CountyMacon CountyMadison CountyMarion CountyMarshall CountyMaury CountyMcMinn CountyMcNairy CountyMeigs CountyMonroe CountyMontgomery CountyMoore CountyMorgan CountyObion CountyOverton CountyPerry CountyPickett CountyPolk CountyPutnam CountyRhea CountyRoane CountyRobertson CountyRutherford CountyScott CountySequatchie CountySevier CountyShelby CountySmith CountyStewart CountySullivan CountySumner CountyTipton CountyTrousdale CountyUnicoi CountyUnion CountyVan Buren CountyWarren CountyWashington CountyWayne CountyWeakley CountyWhite CountyWilliamson CountyWilson CountyxAI Colossus 2 · Operating
Status
Operating · as of Jan. 2026
Location
5420 Tulane Rd., Whitehaven, south Memphis (near the Mississippi line) · Shelby County
Status note
Running, mostly on gas turbines in Southaven, Miss.; computing power reported between about 350 MW (Jan. 2026 imagery) and an analyst estimate of about 946 MW (June 2026).
Power
Not reported
Musk claimed 1 GW+; DCD cited January 2026 satellite imagery showing cooling for about 350 MW. Epoch AI estimates about 946 MW of IT power as of June 15, 2026 (analyst estimate drawing on SpaceX's S-1). MLGW (May 2025) discussed requests from 260 MW to 1.1 GW but had received no final request. Southaven MS gas plant permitted for 41 turbines / 1.2 GW (MDEQ, March 2026); 69 temporary turbines operating there as of July 2026.
Floor area
1,000,000 sq ft
Investment
Building bought for about $80M (FOX13, March 2025). Epoch AI estimates the cluster cost about $35.8B as of June 2026 (estimate).
Developer and team
xAI (now SpaceX/SpaceXAI) (through MZX Tech LLC (subsidiary that operates the Southaven turbines))
End user
xAI/SpaceXAI (Grok); Epoch AI cites reports that Anthropic has used Colossus 2 compute since June 2026 (not independently confirmed here)
Utility
MLGW for about 0.5 MW only; the main power is self-generated from gas turbines in Southaven, MS (former Duke Energy plant site bought July 2025) plus batteries
Water
MLGW said the site is connected to an existing 4/6-inch main with no significant use as of May 2025; cooling is air-cooled chillers and condensers (Epoch AI).
Incentives
None found for this site. Its property taxes fall under the Memphis 25% community-reinvestment ordinance. No EDGE PILOT found.
Evidence
Primary public records
Size class
Under 50 MW (outside main scope; kept for completeness)
Map position approximate, from the reported address or area. Updated Oct. 17, 2026.

Updates, newest first

  1. Oct. 19, 2026 Judge Debra M. Brown let the United States intervene but refused to dismiss the suit, ruling the government cannot end a citizen suit on its own and that its national-security concerns were not relevant to that question. (U.S. District Court, N.D. Miss. (RECAP), Oct. 19, 2026)
  2. Aug. 31, 2026 SpaceXAI said it had powered down 11 of the 69 temporary turbines in Southaven. (Magnolia Tribune (via Clarke County Tribune), Sept. 1, 2026)
  3. July 29, 2026 Musk announced a fourth area data center, Minihard, on Tulane Rd next to Colossus 2 and Macroharder. Under a July 2026 agreed order with MDEQ, all 69 temporary Southaven turbines are to be removed by July 2027. (WMC Action News 5, July 31, 2026; Magnolia Tribune (via Clarke County Tribune), Sept. 1, 2026)
  4. June 15, 2026 The Justice Department moved to intervene and have the suit dismissed, arguing federal enforcers outrank citizen suits and that shutting the turbines would harm national security; a Defense Department declaration said Grok supported military operations. (U.S. District Court, N.D. Miss. (RECAP), June 15, 2026; U.S. District Court, N.D. Miss. (RECAP), June 15, 2026; U.S. District Court, N.D. Miss. (RECAP), June 15, 2026; Tennessee Lookout, June 18, 2026)
  5. May 6, 2026 The plaintiffs asked for a preliminary injunction, citing 33 turbines; an amended motion on June 12 cited 57 as of May 15. No ruling as of Oct. 20, 2026. (U.S. District Court, N.D. Miss. (RECAP), May 6, 2026; U.S. District Court, N.D. Miss. (RECAP), June 12, 2026)
  6. April 14, 2026 The NAACP and its Mississippi State Conference sued X.AI Corp. and MZX Tech in federal court in Oxford, Miss. (No. 3:26-cv-74), alleging 27 turbines in Southaven that power this campus run without Clean Air Act permits. (U.S. District Court, N.D. Miss. (via CourtListener RECAP), April 14, 2026; Southern Environmental Law Center, April 14, 2026)
  7. April 9, 2026 SELC appealed the MDEQ permit for the NAACP, Young, Gifted & Green, and the Safe and Sound Coalition; no outcome found. (Southern Environmental Law Center, May 8, 2026)
  8. March 10, 2026 MDEQ approved a permit for 41 permanent turbines, about 1.2 GW, to power Colossus 2 and a planned Mississippi data center. (Data Center Dynamics, March 11, 2026; Southern Environmental Law Center, May 8, 2026)
  9. Feb. 13, 2026 NAACP, through SELC and Earthjustice, sent a 60-day notice of intent to sue over 27 unpermitted turbines in Southaven. (Southern Environmental Law Center, May 8, 2026; Southern Environmental Law Center, April 14, 2026)
  10. Aug. 21, 2025 MZX Tech applied to MDEQ for a permit for 41 permanent turbines at the Southaven plant. (Southern Environmental Law Center, May 8, 2026)
  11. July 29, 2025 Memphis-Shelby County Schools board voted 7-2 to accept xAI-funded renovations at four southwest Memphis schools near the sites. By July 2026, work was finished at two campuses only (Daily Memphian, via Hoodline). (Chalkbeat Tennessee, July 30, 2025; Hoodline (citing Daily Memphian), July 28, 2026)
  12. July 22, 2025 MLGW stated it has no new contracts with xAI at 5420 Tulane Rd, supplies about 0.5 MW there, and is not supplying power to Colossus 2. (MLGW, July 22, 2025)
  13. July 1, 2025 xAI bought the former Duke Energy power plant site in Southaven, MS to generate power for Colossus 2 (month only). (Data Center Dynamics, March 11, 2026)
  14. May 5, 2025 MLGW said xAI's power requests for Tulane Rd had ranged from 260 MW to 1.1 GW, but no final request was submitted, so no study was underway; gas service there was only a small domestic line. (MLGW, May 5, 2025)
  15. March 7, 2025 xAI disclosed it acquired a 1-million-square-foot property in Whitehaven; FOX13 confirmed an $80 million price. (TechCrunch, March 7, 2025; FOX13 Memphis, March 7, 2025)
  16. Feb. 28, 2025 Land clearing began at the Tulane Rd site, according to Epoch AI's satellite timeline. (Epoch AI, July 30, 2026)

Conflicts and open questions

  • Power conflict: Musk's 1 GW claim vs. about 350 MW of cooling seen in January 2026 imagery (DCD) vs. Epoch AI's estimate of about 946 MW IT by June 2026.
  • Southaven turbine count over time: 18 (late 2025, xAI's consultant), 27 (Feb. 2026 notice), 33 (plaintiffs, as of April 14), 46 (MDEQ, early May), 57 (as of May 15, court filing), 59 (company, June 15), 69 (MDEQ inventory, July 15, 2026).
  • The turbines are in Mississippi (DeSoto County), so permitting is MDEQ, not Shelby County; Tennessee's 2026 self-generation law (HB1847/SB2128) would also allow behind-the-meter generation in Tennessee for 50 MW+ data centers.
  • No TVA or MLGW large-load approval for Tulane Rd was found.
  • Macroharder (Tulane Rd) and the Southaven buildings (MACROHARDRR at 2400 Stateline Rd, former GXO warehouse) are separate buildings; the Mississippi ones belong in a Mississippi tracker.
  • Coordinates are approximate, from the reported address.
  • The DOJ appeal to the Fifth Circuit (No. 26-60806, Sept. 2026) was called premature by the district court; the Fifth Circuit denied the government's request to pause the case.

Have records about this project? Send them to tips@signaldata.org.