Ohio-based electro-mechanical contractor Darana Hybrid filed two mechanics’ liens on July 30–31 against entities tied to SpaceXAI’s Colossus supercomputer campus in Shelby County, Tennessee, according to county property records reviewed by local outlets. The filings total $136,892,782.78 in claimed unpaid work, with $118,246,160.35 attributed to the Colossus II site and $18,646,622.43 to the original Colossus I facility.
Lien Details and Site History
The larger lien names MZX Tech, LLC as the property owner and covers work Darana Hybrid states ran from February 27, 2025, to June 23, 2026, at the Colossus II site. The second lien names CTC Property, LLC as owner of the former Electrolux plant housing the original Colossus I facility, with contract work dating back to March 10, 2024. Neither filing names SpaceXAI directly, reflecting a common structure in which hyperscale operators contract through separate property-holding entities.
Broader Payment Dispute
Darana Hybrid CEO Darryl Cuttell has stated the liens represent only a fraction of a larger outstanding balance. Cuttell alleges SpaceXAI owes his firm roughly $570 million overall, out of approximately $1.5 billion in total contracted work performed on data center projects in Tennessee and Mississippi. According to reporting cited by multiple outlets, Cuttell attributes the payment interruption to the formal merger of xAI and SpaceX earlier in 2026, and says his company in turn owes approximately $200 million to its own vendors.
SpaceXAI has not issued a public response to the allegations, and the claims have not been adjudicated in court.
Industry Context
The dispute surfaces amid a broader surge in hyperscale construction financing risk. Mechanical subcontracts on hyperscale data centers can exceed $50 million per project, with aggressive schedules and daily liquidated-damages exposure elevating surety and payment risk industry-wide. Grid interconnection delays now exceeding four years in major markets have pushed operators toward compressed, high-risk construction timelines that increase strain on contractor cash flow. Owner-furnished-equipment procurement models, in which hyperscalers directly source long-lead electrical and mechanical gear, have also shifted supply-chain and payment risk allocation between operators and trade contractors on projects of this scale.
The Colossus liens arrive shortly after Musk confirmed additional data center development plans in Memphis’ Whitehaven neighborhood, underscoring continued expansion even as legacy payment disputes remain unresolved.
References:
IB Times Australia — SpaceXAI $570 Million Claim Amid IHRA Financial Turmoil
Competition Plus — IHRA Owner Darryl Cuttell Says SpaceXAI Owes Darana Hybrid $570 Million
Yahoo Finance (Nexstar/WATN) — Contractor Claims SpaceXAI Owes More Than $130 Million for Unpaid Work
Action News 5 (WMC) — Contractor Who Built Colossus and Colossus II Says Elon Musk Owes Him Colossal Amount of Money
Powerboat News — Cuttell’s Firm Files $137M Lien Against SpaceXAI Site
Local Memphis (localmemphis.com) — Contractor Claims SpaceXAI Owes More Than $130 Million for Unpaid Work
Grit Insurance — How the Data Center Boom Is Reshaping Contractor Bonding
Shelby County, TN Register of Deeds — Lien filings (instrument nos. 26064953, 26064556)
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