Local Officials Collude with Tech Companies to Bypass Public
The story is the same in town after town: local officials collude with tech companies to bypass the wishes of the public. Whether it’s a city’s Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development Office, or, even, our own GoTopeka, these quasi-governmental entities are often the first point of contact for data center developers - and usually where the lack of transparency begins. Negotiations often start months to years before the public is informed, and once they are, their opinions are typically pushed aside and not taken seriously because the decision has already been made.
When you hear someone gush about how great data centers are for a community, or you receive a pro-data center flyer in the mail, consider whether the source has something to directly gain from that message.
Inside the Memphis Chamber of Commerce’s Push for Elon Musk’s xAI Data Center
by Wendi C. Thomas, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism
August 22, 2025, 6:00 am
Reporting Highlights
Misleading Mailer: Despite locals’ health concerns, the Chamber of Commerce has gone to unusual lengths to promote a data center, including sending a mailer with inaccurate information.
“Concierge Service”: The chamber has a five-member operations team dedicated to xAI, one of Musk’s companies, as it tries to transform Memphis into a global hub of technological innovation.
Community Health Concerns: Residents of a Memphis neighborhood worried emissions from xAI’s gas turbines would add to the pollution from nearby industrial plants that triggers asthma
Marilyn Gooch was already skeptical about one of her newest neighbors, xAI’s supercomputing facility, when her cousin walked across the street in June with a blue mailer from the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce.
Her cousin didn’t know what to make of the postcard featuring the logos of nine local, state and federal agencies and the chamber’s assurance that billionaire Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company operated “in full compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations and oversight.” The facility — part of Musk’s bid to dominate the AI market — opened at a breakneck pace almost a year before, brought to Memphis, Tennessee, largely due to the efforts of the local Chamber of Commerce.