A public meeting in Tennessee descended into disorder Tuesday as anger over Elon Musk’s expanding data center operations boiled over. Furious residents accused Memphis City Council members of being “sellouts,” and punches were reportedly thrown during the confrontation.
The Memphis City Council delayed its third and final vote on a proposed moratorium covering new data center construction. The decision sparked an uproar, with police entering the building as council members were escorted away.
Video from the meeting showed residents shouting toward the council, while demonstrators used bullhorns to lead chants including “bought and sold,” “sellouts” and “no justice, no peace.”
As people in the gallery stood and continued the protest, a council member was heard on a live microphone asking, “Is that a bullhorn?”
Councilwoman Yolanda Cooper-Sutton was removed from the chamber after a tense exchange involving protesters and fellow council member JB Smiley.
The rest of the meeting was suspended as the police presence reportedly tripled. Outside, advocates linked arms and continued demonstrating in front of City Hall over the delayed vote.
Among them was Indivisible Memphis, which shared a post on Instagram days earlier declaring: ‘Memphis belongs to Memphis, not Elon Musk.’
The meeting had begun with expectations that the ordinance would clear its third reading. Instead, council members scheduled a work session for Thursday, October 8, to address unresolved details.
A Tennessee City Hall meeting focused on Elon Musk’s controversial data centers erupted into chaos Tuesday
The Memphis City Council delayed a third and final vote on a proposed pause for new data center development, setting off a confrontation that brought police into the building and led to council members being escorted out
If approved, the moratorium would halt new data center development for as long as one year, or until Memphis establishes a regulatory framework for future projects.
Before the proposal was postponed, Councilmember Michalyn Easter-Thomas suggested extending the moratorium from 12 months to 18 months, according to Local Memphis.
Meanwhile, several committee proposals would replace the temporary moratorium with permanent data center regulations. One measure, written by City Attorney Allen Wade, brings together provisions from multiple proposals in a single ordinance.
At an earlier meeting, Council Chair Jana Swearengen-Washington emphasized that the measure was not a “ban,” but a temporary pause, according to the Memphis Flyer.
She said the proposal was not intended to block economic development. Instead, she described it as a way to give Memphis officials and residents both “time and a voice.”
JB Smiley Jr. said the moratorium would provide the city with time “to study the issues, engage the community, assess potential impacts, and develop permanent regulations for large-scale data centers and high-density computing facilities.”
Musk’s presence in the Memphis area has expanded sharply over the past two years, beginning with construction of the Colossus 1 data center just north of Southaven in 2024.
By January 2026, two additional data centers had been announced. In July, the billionaire disclosed another facility, called Minihard, in a reply to a post on X.
Video showed an angry crowd confronting council members as residents used bullhorns to lead chants of “bought and sold,” “sellouts” and “no justice, no peace”
Councilwoman Yolanda Cooper-Sutton (pictured) was removed after a heated exchange with protesters and fellow council member JB Smiley
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Should Memphis prioritize tech growth or protect communities from the impacts of data centers?
The moves have sparked an outcry, with residents demanding that the temporary moratorium be passed.
‘Data centers are churning out emissions, disrupting folks’ quality of life with piercing noise and are drawing millions of gallons of water from the Memphis Sand Aquifer,’ environmental justice advocate Richard Massey previously told the Memphis Flyer.
He stressed the need for a moratorium to protect marginalized communities, citing Southwest Memphis’ history of environmental racism and arguing that data centers continue a pattern of environmental injustice.
‘We need a data center moratorium so we can close the floodgates and effectively put real safeguards in place that protect our most vulnerable communities,’ Massey added.
Musk was looking for a location where he could quickly train his AI with abundant electricity and water, and Memphis proved a willing partner, according to Time Magazine.
Because Tennessee does not collect a state income tax, which it phased out in 2021, local governments rely heavily on businesses to generate revenue through property taxes.
‘Property taxes are the mother’s milk of how government is funded,’ Bobby White, chief government affairs officer at the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce, told the outlet.
‘And we have not, historically, had people tripping over themselves to get to Memphis. We have to go get it out of the mud,’ he added.
Meanwhile, resident Easter Knox, 78, who lives three miles down from a data center, told the outlet last year that she began smelling gas in the air and was forced to stop opening her windows.
‘It smells like rotten cabbage early in the morning,’ she said. ‘It’s been a struggle, breathing this little air that’s coming through.’