Video: We caught Elon Musk’s AI company flouting EPA rules using a thermal drone
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, is continuing to fuel its data centers with unpermitted gas turbines, according to a Floodlight visual investigation. Thermal drone footage captured in late January 2026, shows xAI running the unpermitted turbines at its custom built powerplant in Southaven, Miss., nearly two weeks after an Environmental Protection Agency ruling reiterated that doing so requires a state permit in advance. The ad hoc gas plant’s sole task is to power the datacenter behind Grok and is part of an increasing reliance among AI companies on fossil fuels.
Read the full investigation in our original story, co-published with The Guardian:
‘A different set of rules’: Thermal drone footage shows Musk’s AI power plant flouting clean air regulations
Images confirm xAI is continuing to defy EPA regulations in Mississippi to power its flagship data centers.
Evan Simon/Floodlight
Video: We caught Elon Musk’s AI company flouting EPA rules using a thermal drone
Video: We caught Elon Musk’s AI company flouting EPA rules using a thermal drone
Curious how we pulled off this project? Read our Q&A with reporter Evan Simon:
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Inside the reporting: Using a thermal drone to investigate xAI’s power plant
A Q&A with reporter Evan Simon on how this first-of-its-kind investigation came together.
Evan Simon/Floodlight
Video: We caught Elon Musk’s AI company flouting EPA rules using a thermal drone
Video: We caught Elon Musk’s AI company flouting EPA rules using a thermal drone
This investigation took months of reporting and specialized equipment. Want to support work like this? Make a donation to Floodlight and help us continue investigations like this one.
