xAI Unit Offers to Buy Southaven Homes if Owners Don't Join Noise Lawsuit
A realtor told one resident the target is 418 homes in the Colonial Hills neighborhood. County records show five purchases so far, and residents, the city and the company describe the offers very differently.
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MZX Tech, the xAI subsidiary that runs a gas-fired power plant in Southaven, Mississippi, is offering to buy nearby homes. Owners who sell must agree not to join a class-action lawsuit over the plant's noise. The Guardian reported on Oct. 28 that a realtor told one resident there is a target to buy 418 homes, almost the entire Colonial Hills neighborhood. The realtor also said 18 owners had already agreed to sell. The paper based those figures on a recording of the conversation it heard. xAI did not respond to its questions about the numbers.
DeSoto County records show MZX has bought five homes in the neighborhood since Oct. 9, the Guardian reported.
What the offer says
The letter, first published by the Mississippi Free Press, states: "MZX denies all of the allegations against it." It continues: "because MZX also requires property for its business purposes, MZX, through its real estate broker, is offering to purchase real estate in Southaven in exchange for, among other things, a release of all claims related to the lawsuit."
Sellers would sign a release at closing. The letter warns that after signing, "you will be unable to recover any damages or other relief" from the lawsuit "and you will also be unable to bring claims on your own behalf." It also says accepting is "fully voluntary." Mississippi Today reported that local firm Burch Realty Group is handling offers for MZX.
The lawsuit
Three residents, Jason Haley, Preston Herrington and Taylor Logsdon, sued xAI and MZX in June. They allege noise and vibration from the plant, which began operating in August 2025. Their complaint seeks class status for more than 10,000 people in the area. It describes the sound as "a combination of high-pitched squealing, continuous engine roaring, low-frequency rumbling, and tonal humming or whining." The suit seeks a court order to reduce the noise, plus money damages.
The plaintiffs' lawyers have published an FAQ saying they aren't involved in the offers, and that no court has reviewed or approved them. They also say the release terms haven't been made public, so owners can't yet know exactly what they would give up.
How each side sees it
The company. xAI denies the claims in the lawsuit. It has said it "care[s] deeply about being good neighbors," and it has varied the plant's power output and built sound-dampening walls. In July it agreed with state regulators to replace the temporary turbines with a permanent gas-fired plant by next summer.
The city. Southaven Mayor Darren Musselwhite told the Guardian the homes would house some xAI employees. He called the buyouts "a goodwill gesture from a good corporate citizen for those who perceive the industrial development near them as a negative." He said the buyout "is not intended to be a company city." He said city monitors haven't recorded a breach of the local 70-decibel noise limit.
Residents. Opinions are split. Haley described a "high-pitched hum" that keeps him awake. Neighbor Gavin Foust said he won't sell because of the no-sue condition, though his elderly neighbors have agreed to. Haley acknowledged that some locals aren't bothered by the noise and that others welcome the investment. Mississippi Today reported that renters say they're being left with no options as landlords sell.
Our analysis
A buyout can give a homeowner a quick, certain exit. But the trade-off is uneven. Owners have to decide before a court has ruled, and before they've seen the full release. For people who stay, each sale shrinks the neighborhood and could also shrink the group of potential class members.
The offer count is also unconfirmed. The 418 and 18 figures come from a realtor's remark on a recording, not from a company statement. Public records so far show five purchases.
What to watch
- Whether county records show more MZX purchases.
- Whether the release agreement becomes public, or the court weighs in on the offers.
How we reported this
We checked figures and quotes against the Guardian report and the MZX letter as published by local outlets. We also used Mississippi Today's reporting and the plaintiffs' lawyers' FAQ. We haven't independently confirmed the 418-home target.
Sources
- The Guardian, "'Elonville': US residents say Musk's xAI offered to buy homes if they don't sue over datacenter noise" (Oct. 28, 2026): https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/28/datacenter-noise-lawsuit-elon-musk-mississippi
- Mississippi Free Press, "xAI Offers Buyouts to Southaven Residents Who Agree Not to Sue": https://www.mississippifreepress.org/xai-moves-to-buy-out-southaven-residents-who-agree-not-to-sue-it-over-power-plant-noise-letter-shows/
- Mississippi Today, "Facing lawsuits, Elon Musk's SpaceXAI offers to buy homes near Southaven data centers" (Oct. 15, 2026): https://mississippitoday.org/2026/10/15/facing-lawsuits-elon-musks-spacexai-offers-to-buy-homes-homes-near-southaven-data-centers/
- Plaintiffs' counsel, "Home Buyout Offers and the xAI Lawsuit" FAQ: https://www.lawmbg.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/FAQ_Home-Buyout-Offers-and-the-xAI-Lawsuit-1.pdf
- Memphis Flyer, "SpaceXAI Offers to Buy Southaven Homes to Help Settle Suit": https://www.memphisflyer.com/spacexai-offers-to-buy-southaven-homes-to-help-settle-suit/
DailyMech used AI tools to help research and draft this article; it was fact-checked by our editors.