Tennessee Man Charged with Terrorism for Threatening to Burn Down Elon Musk's xAI Facility

Man who said he was upset with Musk and Trump charged with threatening to burn down xAI facility

ASHLAND CITY, Tenn. (AP) -- A Tennessee man has been charged with an act of terrorism after he threatened to burn down an xAI facility because he was upset with its founder, Elon Musk, and President Donald Trump, authorities said. Ethan Paul Early, 25, of Ashland City, was arrested and charged on Feb. 20 after he spoke with a police officer about the threats, according to an affidavit. He was booked into jail on $500,000 bond, court records show. A lawyer listed in court records for Early did not immediately return a call seeking comment Wednesday. A police officer in Ashland City, located northwest of Nashville, said he received a call from a friend of Early's who was concerned after Early said he wanted to burn down one of Musk's data centers because he was upset with the tech billionaire and Trump, the affidavit says. The caller advised that Early said he intended to use thermite and had already begun buying the material to make the compound, which causes intense heat. The officer went to Early's home and asked him what he was thinking of burning down, the affidavit says. Early said Musk had an "AI factory" in Memphis. Musk's artificial intelligence company, xAI, operates a supercomputer in Memphis, located about 200 miles (321 kilometers) west of Ashland City. Early told the officer that he was no longer thinking about going through with the idea "and that he had good friends that had talked him out of it," the affidavit says. "The Defendant admitted that he had gotten too wrapped up in politics and had went 'too far down the deep end,'" the affidavit says. Early told the officer that he felt he "had to do something" and was "ashamed of himself to get so carried away," according to the affidavit. The affidavit does not say what exactly Early was upset about. Early told the officer that he had thrown the material away. Musk, through the Department of Government Efficiency, has been working to cut the size of the federal government under Trump's administration. Those cuts include layoffs of government workers.

Tennessee man charged with threatening to burn down Elon Musk's xAI facility in Memphis

President Donald Trump invited Elon Musk to speak at his first cabinet meeting, where Musk defended DOGE's efforts to cut government waste. MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- A Tennessee man has been charged with an act of terrorism after threatening to burn down billionaire Elon Musk's xAI facility in Memphis earlier this month, court records show. Ethan Early, 25, of Ashland City, Tennessee, was arrested and charged on Feb. 20 after he spoke with a police officer about the threats, an affidavit states. Ashland City, located in Cheatham County, sits on the northwest part of Nashville, Tennessee, and is about 200 miles away from Memphis. According to the affidavit, a police officer in Ashland City received a call from a friend of Early's who was concerned after Early told the friend he wanted to burn down a data center owned by Musk. The friend advised the officer on the phone call that Early had begun purchasing thermite but had thrown it away after friends convinced him to, the affidavit stated. Thermite, a pyrotechnic composition that can create brief bursts of heat and reach temperatures of 45,000 degrees Fahrenheit, is illegal and considered a Class 1 explosive. The officer then went to Early's home and questioned him about the statements made about burning down a facility. Early admitted he was thinking of burning down Musk's "AI factory in Memphis," better known as the supercomputer, Colossus, according to the affidavit. Early told police that he had gotten "too wrapped up in politics" but his friends talked him out of his decision, the affidavit stated. He had reportedly already thrown out the thermite materials when police arrived at his home to question him. A few days later, Early was arrested on Feb. 20 and charged with an act of terrorism. He was booked in jail with a $500,000 bond. What is xAI? xAI, founded by Musk, is a program aimed at developing artificial intelligence. The company, which started in July 2023, has already made waves with its own AI program called Grok. The program, available to X premium users, has been on the social media platform since December. According to the website, the company's goal is "working on building artificial intelligence to accelerate human scientific discovery. We are guided by our mission to advance our collective understanding of the universe." In an X post, Greg Yang, one of the co-founders, said the company would work to "develop the 'theory of everything' for large neural networks" in order to take AI to the next level. His post also said the company will get into the mathematics of deep learning, an aspect of AI. Threat comes amid growing concern over Elon Musk The threat against xAI's Memphis facility comes amid growing concerns over Musk's large influence in the Trump administration. Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, leads the Department of Government Efficiency, which has laid off over 20,000 workers and offered buyouts to another 75,000 across wide swaths of the government in recent weeks, according to Reuters. On Wednesday, Musk attended President Donald Trump's first Cabinet meeting, in which he touted his efforts in drastic cuts to the federal workforce. During the meeting, the tech billionaire also noted that he has received numerous death threats over his work. "I'm taking a lot of flak and getting a lot of death threats, by the way. I can, like, stack them up," Musk said as he addressed Trump and the president's Cabinet secretaries. "But if we don't do this, America will go bankrupt. That's why it has to be done." USA TODAY previously reported that there has been a rising trend in anger directed at Musk and his companies, chiefly Tesla. The automotive and energy company has been targeted by protestors, vandals, and arsonists since Musk announced his endorsement of Trump last year.

Man who said he was upset with Musk and Trump charged with threatening to burn down xAI facility

ASHLAND CITY, Tenn. (AP) -- A Tennessee man has been charged with an act of terrorism after he threatened to burn down an xAI facility because he was upset with its founder, Elon Musk, and President Donald Trump, authorities said. Ethan Paul Early, 25, of Ashland City, was arrested and charged on Feb. 20 after he spoke with a police officer about the threats, according to an affidavit. He was booked into jail on $500,000 bond, court records show. A lawyer listed in court records for Early did not immediately return a call seeking comment Wednesday. A police officer in Ashland City, located northwest of Nashville, said he received a call from a friend of Early's who was concerned after Early said he wanted to burn down one of Musk's data centers because he was upset with the tech billionaire and Trump, the affidavit says. The caller advised that Early said he intended to use thermite and had already begun buying the material to make the compound, which causes intense heat. The officer went to Early's home and asked him what he was thinking of burning down, the affidavit says. Early said Musk had an "AI factory" in Memphis. Musk's artificial intelligence company, xAI, operates a supercomputer in Memphis, located about 200 miles (321 kilometers) west of Ashland City. Early told the officer that he was no longer thinking about going through with the idea "and that he had good friends that had talked him out of it," the affidavit says. "The Defendant admitted that he had gotten too wrapped up in politics and had went 'too far down the deep end,'" the affidavit says. Early told the officer that he felt he "had to do something" and was "ashamed of himself to get so carried away," according to the affidavit. The affidavit does not say what exactly Early was upset about. Early told the officer that he had thrown the material away.

Man who said he was upset with Musk and Trump charged with threatening to burn down xAI facility

ASHLAND CITY, Tenn. -- A Tennessee man has been charged with an act of terrorism after he threatened to burn down an xAI facility because he was upset with its founder, Elon Musk, and President Donald Trump, authorities said. Ethan Paul Early, 25, of Ashland City, was arrested and charged on Feb. 20 after he spoke with a police officer about the threats, according to an affidavit. He was booked into jail on $500,000 bond, court records show. A lawyer listed in court records for Early did not immediately return a call seeking comment Wednesday. A police officer in Ashland City, located northwest of Nashville, said he received a call from a friend of Early's who was concerned after Early said he wanted to burn down one of Musk's data centers because he was upset with the tech billionaire and Trump, the affidavit says. The caller advised that Early said he intended to use thermite and had already begun buying the material to make the compound, which causes intense heat. The officer went to Early's home and asked him what he was thinking of burning down, the affidavit says. Early said Musk had an "AI factory" in Memphis. Musk's artificial intelligence company, xAI, operates a supercomputer in Memphis, located about 200 miles (321 kilometers) west of Ashland City. Early told the officer that he was no longer thinking about going through with the idea "and that he had good friends that had talked him out of it," the affidavit says. "The Defendant admitted that he had gotten too wrapped up in politics and had went 'too far down the deep end,'" the affidavit says. Early told the officer that he felt he "had to do something" and was "ashamed of himself to get so carried away," according to the affidavit. The affidavit does not say what exactly Early was upset about. Early told the officer that he had thrown the material away.