--- title: "Elon Musk’s xAI, Which is Being Sued Over AI-Generated Sexual Deepfakes, Sues Grok User Over AI-Generated Sexual Deepfakes" description: "xAI is suing a man for using its Grok chatbot to create nonconsensual sexual deepfakes and CSAM of women and children." date: "2026-07-17" modified: "2026-07-17" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/elon-musk-xai-sues-grok-user-deepfakes" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "xAI" --- # Elon Musk’s xAI, Which is Being Sued Over AI-Generated Sexual Deepfakes, Sues Grok User Over AI-Generated Sexual Deepfakes ![A stylized photo illustration featuring Elon Musk.]() Elon Musk's xAI is suing a man for using its flagship chatbot, Grok, to create nonconsensual sexual deepfakes of women and children. The Grok user, a 67-year-old in South Carolina named Terry Wayne Harwood, was [arrested in March]() on multiple counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. According to the allegations, Harwood possessed and distributed child sexual abuse material, or CSAM. Filed earlier this week in Texas, xAI's lawsuit accuses Harwood of using Grok to do just that, [per *Reuters*](). He apparently used two different Grok accounts, according to the lawsuit, and though xAI claims that Grok refused some of Harwood's requests, he was able to tailor prompts to sidestep Grok's safety guardrails and create the disturbing imagery. The lawsuit follows a [massive deepfake scandal]() that unfolded over the winter, as X users realized that Grok — which had been [updated]() with a new photo and video-editing feature — could be used to quickly and easily alter images to artificially undress real people and depict them in sexual positions. As [*Futurism* reported](), some of these images depicted real women in sexually violent and degrading scenarios. Some of the nonconsensual deepfakes depicted minors. The Center for Countering Digital Hate [estimated that]() during an 11-day period, Grok "generated an estimated 3 million sexualized images, including 23,000 of children." Now, as it sues one of its users for the creation of illegal content, xAI is *fighting* multiple lawsuits over Grok-generated CSAM. In March, teenagers in Tennessee [sued the company]() in a proposed class action, alleging that Grok had been used to create deepfakes of them and more than a dozen other minors. Just last week, [the suit was amended]() to include allegations that a man used Grok to generate more than 7,000 sexual deepfakes of his stepdaughter. The amended complaint alleges that the man's prompts largely went unflagged by Grok's guardrails. In another high-profile case, the former conservative influencer (and mother to one of Musk's many children) Ashley St. Clair [sued xAI]() after she was aggressively targeted by sexualized deepfakes, including one depicting her as a minor. Law enforcement professionals and child online safety experts say that AI has led to an overwhelming and disorienting new flood of CSAM, [as *Bloomberg* detailed in a devastating report]() earlier this year. It's also created a host of new challenges for those attempting to find and arrest child predators, as AI has made it more difficult for investigators to determine whether a child depicted in abuse material is real or AI-generated. In its latest lawsuit, xAI accuses Harwood of engaging in a "calculated scheme to weaponize Plaintiff's ⁠tool ​for criminal ends, exposing real victims to profound ​and lasting harm, while exposing Plaintiff to significant legal risk and reputational damage." xAI — which is now owned by SpaceX and has since been renamed to SpaceXAI — also alleges that it "enforces its rules ​against violators through account suspensions, account terminations, and by reporting suspected child sexual abuse ‌material ⁠to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children," or NCMEC. It also claims that xAI "has suspended 52,222 accounts and made 73,604 reports to NCMEC in 2026, resulting in (at least) 244 arrests." But despite its best efforts, it's clear that the startup still has a serious deepfake problem. If a user is engaging in deeply disturbing criminal activity using a company's service, it's reasonable for a company to hold them to account. But suing users doesn't fix a chatbot's failing guardrails, facilitating their crimes. **More on Grok and deepfakes:** *[Grok Linked to Sickening Crime in Lawsuit That Puts SpaceX in Crosshairs]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()