The Payments
In the ten weeks around the tax agreement, MZX Tech and the Musk Foundation put $6,690,900 in front of the City of Southaven. Here is each payment, what document created it, and when it was signed.
The sequence
Dates below are taken from the face of each document. We present them in order and without commentary about motive, because the order is the fact and motive is not something a contract can show.
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23 December 2025Memorandum of Understanding — $3,460,000 roads
MZX Tech, LLC and the City agree on $3,460,000 for improvements to Stateline Road and Tulane Road — the roads serving the site.
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29 December 2025Musk Foundation Grant Agreement — $1,850,000
A grant to the City from the Musk Foundation. The agreement contains a confidentiality provision at Section 6. Whether a Mississippi municipality can accept a grant conditioned on confidentiality, consistent with the Public Records Act, is a question the City's outside counsel would have had to consider.
Identified in the City's own records index · requested in full
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6 January 2026Ad Valorem Tax Agreement takes effect 67% abated, 10 years
The fee-in-lieu agreement's stated Effective Date. Two thirds of the project's property taxes are abated for up to ten assessment years, binding on future boards.
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10 February 2026Donation Agreement — $1,380,900 to the Police Department
MZX Tech LLC donates $1,380,900 to the City of Southaven for the exclusive use of the Southaven Police Department. Signed by Mayor Darren Musselwhite on 2–10–2026.
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24 February 2026MDA Certificate of Final Approval executed
The Mississippi Development Authority's Executive Director signs the certificate that makes the fee-in-lieu final under Miss. Code Ann. § 27-31-104(3).
Exhibit A to the tax agreement · full application requested from MDA
The police donation, in its own words
1. Donation. The Donor agrees to donate the sum of $1,380,900 (the “Donation”) to the Recipient. Recipient agrees to use the Donation exclusively for The City of Southaven Police Department and in accordance with applicable Mississippi laws.
2. No Quid Pro Quo. This Donation is made without any expectation of goods, services, or benefits in return, other than any applicable tax deductions for the Donor under federal and state law, if any.
Donation Agreement, §§ 1–2 · source documentThe donor is MZX Tech LLC, of 1450 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, California. The recipient is the City. The agreement is governed by Mississippi law and states that it supersedes any prior agreements between the parties.
The donor never signed it. On the copy the City released, the DONOR signature block — signature, printed name, title and date — is blank. Only the City executed the document, on 10 February 2026.
§ 3 anticipates a vote that the released records do not show. The City “confirms that acceptance of the Donation complies with Mississippi municipal laws and has been (or will be) formally approved [e.g., city council resolution] to the extent required.” No minutes or resolution recording that approval has been released.
An unsigned counterpart is not by itself evidence of anything improper — parties often sign in counterparts and produce only one. We note it because the released record is the record, and this is what it shows. If a fully executed copy exists, producing it settles the point in a single email.
Where the money went
| Date | Instrument | Payer | Amount | Stated purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-12-23 | Memorandum of Understanding | MZX Tech, LLC | $3,460,000 | Stateline Rd & Tulane Rd improvements |
| 2025-12-29 | Grant Agreement | Musk Foundation | $1,850,000 | Not stated in released records |
| 2026-02-10 | Donation Agreement | MZX Tech, LLC | $1,380,900 | Southaven Police Department |
| Total | $6,690,900 |
Which fund each payment was deposited into, what has been spent from it, whether each was accepted by a recorded vote on a published agenda, and what legal advice the City took on the Musk Foundation grant's confidentiality clause. All of it is requestable, and all of it is in the letter the Foundation has prepared for the City Clerk. Use the template →