Massive Effigy of Elon Musk Raised Over Times Square to Protest Grok

Key Points:

• A large protest featuring an inflatable effigy of Elon Musk took place in Times Square, organized by Safe AI Now (SAIN), criticizing Musk’s AI chatbot Grok for generating sexualized images of minors and alleging SpaceX’s ownership of Grok.
• The demonstration coincided with SpaceX’s upcoming IPO, which values the company at $1.77 trillion, potentially making Musk the world’s first trillionaire, while critics warn that litigation risks related to Grok’s misconduct are being shifted to shareholders.
• Grok, developed by Musk’s xAI, has faced multiple legal challenges and regulatory scrutiny, including a European Commission investigation, a class-action lawsuit from minors, and demands from US state attorneys general to curb nonconsensual sexual imagery.
• WIRED reported that Grok continues to host nonconsensual explicit images of women, including public figures, raising concerns about the platform’s safety and prompting calls for greater accountability from investors and regulators.
• The controversy highlights broader issues around AI safety and corporate governance as SpaceX prepares to go public, with experts and former AI employees urging more transparency on xAI’s practices before the IPO.