# Memphis City Council Fails 18-Month Data Center Moratorium

> Memphis City Council narrowly passes 135-day pause on Elon Musk’s xAI data centers after residents demand breathing space.
- Title: Memphis City Council Fails 18-Month Data Center Moratorium
- Summary: Memphis City Council narrowly passes 135-day pause on Elon Musk’s xAI data centers after residents demand breathing space. Memphis City Council approved a…
- Keywords: memphis, elton musk, xai, data center moratorium, memphis city council, respiratory illness, environmental racism, council vote, colossus data center, boxtown neighborhood, City, Council
- Source: Mother Jones — https://motherjones.com/politics/2026/10/memphis-digital-delta-pollution-xai-city-council-moratorium
- Author: Sophie Hurwitz
- Published: 2026-10-21T13:05:06+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: memphis, elton musk, xai, data center moratorium, memphis city council, respiratory illness, environmental racism, council vote, colossus data center, boxtown neighborhood
## Memphis City Council Vote
Memphis City Council narrowly failed to pass an 18-month data center moratorium but approved a 135-day development pause.

> We demand representation that chooses us, the people, over the profits of a billionaire’s experiment.
## Elon Musk’s xAI in Memphis
Elon Musk’s xAI has claimed Memphis as its 'home,' building three hyperscale AI data centers in the metro area.
## Residents Push for Moratorium
Residents have spent the past year suing xAI, organizing communities, and pushing for a moratorium due to environmental racism.
## Justin Pearson’s Advocacy
Justin Pearson, a Memphis congressional candidate thrown out of City Council, spoke at the meeting demanding a data center moratorium.

> If you have never rushed your family to a Walgreens to get an inhaler to save their lives, you don’t know what it’s like for people to struggle to breathe.
## Health Impacts in Boxtown
Boxtown, a majority-Black neighborhood, faces cancer risks from air pollution four times the national average and leads the state in asthma emergency visits.
## 135-Day Moratorium Passes
The council passed a 135-day data center development pause but failed to pass an 18-month moratorium on a 6-6 tie.
## Next Steps for Residents
Residents plan to push for a federal moratorium in Congress after the city council’s vote on data center expansion.
## Key takeaway

Memphis City Council approved a 135-day data center development pause for Elon Musk’s xAI after residents pushed for environmental protections.