Abbott Just Took $500,000 From Elon Musk. Texans Are Stuck Taking the Pollution.

AUSTIN, TX — Data centers have become one of the defining fights of the Texas governor’s race. Incumbent Governor Greg Abbott recently took $500,000 from Elon Musk, owner of xAI and one of the loudest voices pushing to build more AI data centers across the state, even as rural communities from Bullard to San Antonio raise the alarm over the water, energy and air pollution costs landing in their backyards. State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic nominee for governor, has made a simple case central to her campaign: data centers are owned by some of the richest men in the world, and they should pay for themselves—not stick Texas families with the bill.

New data from Climate Power’s Data Center Pollution Tracker shows exactly why that fight matters. The tool scores the eight biggest tech companies from 0 to 100 based on how they power their AI data centers—and found that xAI, Musk’s company, scores just 6 out of 100, the worst of any company measured. Not one of the eight major tech companies is primarily powering its AI data centers with clean energy, which means every one of them is still pumping toxic emissions—fine particulate matter and nitrogen oxides linked to asthma and to heart and lung disease—into the communities living closest to their facilities.

“This tracker proves that dirty air isn’t inevitable; it’s a choice these companies are making,” said Antonieta Cadiz, executive director of Climate Power En Acción. “Gina Hinojosa is right to stand up to big tech companies when they do the wrong thing, whether it’s raising our utility bills, polluting our air, or using all of our water. Meanwhile, Abbott is being propped up by the tech billionaires who are producing the most pollution.  These kinds of data centers  mean the families living near them are breathing the asthma-triggering, heart-damaging pollution that comes with burning gas and diesel, day after day, week after week, and it’s become clear who will stand up to them and protect them as governor.”

###