In this photo illustration, a person holds a smartphone showing Ani, a virtual anime-style assistant character featured in the Grok 4 AI chatbot developed by xAI, with the Grok logo visible on a screen in the background on July 16, 2025 in Chongqing, China.
Cheng Xin | Getty Images
Elon Musk‘s xAI is now facing an investigation in the U.S., led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, after its artificial intelligence chatbot and image generator, Grok, enabled the widespread creation and posting of nonconsensual explicit images based on photos of real people.
In some cases, Grok enabled users to generate images that virtually undressed minors, according to research by the Internet Watch Foundation.
“xAI appears to be facilitating the large-scale production of deepfake nonconsensual intimate images that are being used to harass women and girls across the internet, including via the social media platform X,” Bonta said in a statement Wednesday.
The AG said his office was investigating xAI over “the proliferation of nonconsensual sexually explicit material produced using Grok.”
The U.S. probe follows a more rapid response from a myriad of international government offices, including India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Ireland, the UK, France, Australia and an investigation by the European Commission.
Malaysia and Indonesia have already moved to suspend the use of xAI’s Grok until the issues can be resolved, CNBC previously reported.
In the U.S., three Democratic senators have called on Apple and Google to remove the X and Grok apps from their app stores until the company can move to prevent easy creation of nonconsensual 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 have also called on the app stores to suspend xAI’s apps.
Apple and Google did not respond to requests for comment.
On Tuesday, the Senate voted to pass the DEFIANCE Act, a bill that would allow people who were portrayed against their wishes in explicit, deepfake images to sue companies making or distributing such content, in civil court.
The bill previously passed the Senate in 2024, but has yet to be reviewed and passed by the House.
On Wednesday, Musk said in a post on X, that he was “not aware of any naked underage images generated by Grok,” despite the multiple government queries regarding such images.
Musk instead blamed the creation and sharing of potentially illegal content via Grok and X, on “user requests” and a possible “bug” in the Grok system.
CNBC has reached out to xAI and company executives, including Elon Musk and Jared Birchall. They did not provide any further information.
Previously, amid escalating concerns over Grok’s output, xAI announced it would limit some image generation and editing features to paying subscribers.
Musk also previously said on X that users creating illegal content via Grok would face consequences equivalent to uploading such material directly to the social media platform.
XAI recently closed a $20 billion round of growth funding with investors including Nvidia and Cisco Investments, as well as long-time Musk company backers Valor Equity Partners, Stepstone Group, Fidelity, Qatar Investment Authority, Abu Dhabi’s MGX and Baron Capital Group.
While xAI’s data centers are being built out in and around Memphis, Tennessee, Musk’s AI and social media venture is incorporated in Nevada, with its headquarters in Palo Alto, California, near the engineering office for Musk’s automaker Tesla.
Tesla has also made Grok a feature of its vehicles’ infotainment systems.
