Musk’s xAI probed by California DOJ over Grok’s explicit image posts
In this photo illustration, a person holds a smartphone showing Ani, an anime-style virtual assistant character featured in the Grok 4 AI chatbot developed by xAI, with the Grok logo visible in the background on July 16, 2025 in Chongqing, China.
Cheng Xin | Getty Images
Elon Musk’s xAI is facing a US investigation led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta after its AI chatbot and image generator Grok enabled the widespread creation and publication of non-consensual sexually explicit images based on photos of real people.
In some cases, Grok allowed users to create images of minors virtually undressing, according to research by the Internet Watch Foundation.
“xAI appears to facilitate the large-scale production of deepfake, non-consensual intimate images used to harass women and girls across the internet, including on social media platform X,” Bonta said in a statement on Wednesday. he said.
The AG said his office was investigating xAI due to “the proliferation of non-consensual sexually explicit material produced using Grok.”
The US investigation follows a quicker response from several international government agencies, including India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Ireland, the UK, France and Australia, and an investigation by the European Commission.
Malaysia and Indonesia had moved to suspend the use of xAI’s Grok until the issues were resolved, CNBC previously reported.
Three Democratic senators in the USA called Apple And Google The company has decided to remove the X and Grok apps from app stores until it takes action to prevent the easy creation of non-consensual sexually explicit images and deepfake images depicting child sexual abuse.
Advocacy groups for women and children, including UltraViolet, the National Organization for Women, and ParentsTogether Action, also called on app stores to: Suspend xAI’s applications.
Apple and Google did not respond to requests for comment.
Senate on Tuesday voted to pass The DEFIANCE Act is a bill that would allow people who are depicted in explicit, deepfake images against their will to sue companies that produce or distribute such content in civil court.
The bill had previously passed the Senate in 2024, but has not yet been reviewed and adopted by the House.
Musk on Wednesday said in a post on XHe said he was “unaware of any underage nude images created by Grok” despite numerous inquiries from the government about such images.
Musk instead blamed the creation and sharing of potentially illegal content through Grok and X on “user requests” and a possible “bug” in the Grok system.
CNBC reached out to xAI and company executives, including Elon Musk and Jared Birchall. They did not give any further information.
Earlier, amid growing concerns about Grok’s production xAI announced will limit some image creation and editing features to paying subscribers.
Musk also said before in X It was stated that users who create illegal content through Grok will face consequences equivalent to uploading such material directly to the social media platform.
XAI recently closed a $20 billion growth financing round with investors including Nvidia and Cisco Investments, as well as Valor Equity Partners, Stepstone Group, Fidelity, Qatar Investment Authority, Abu Dhabi’s MGX, and Musk’s long-time backers Baron Capital Group.
xAI’s data centers are built in and around Memphis, Tennessee, while Musk’s artificial intelligence and social media startup was founded in Nevada; It is headquartered in Palo Alto, California, near Musk’s automaker’s engineering office. Tesla’s.
Tesla also has made Grok A feature of their vehicles’ infotainment systems.
