Key Points California Attorney General Rob Bonta said his office is investigating Elon Musk's xAI over its apparent "large-scale production of deepfake nonconsensual intimate images." Musk's xAI created the AI image generator and chatbot Grok and operates social network X. The California investigation follows formal investigations and some temporary bans by foreign governments. In this article Microsoft says communities won't see energy price hikes near data centers as utility costs rise 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. After Bonta announced that his office would investigate xAI, Musk said in a post on X, "With NSFW enabled, Grok is supposed allow upper body nudity of imaginary adult humans (not real ones) consistent with what can be seen in R-rated movies on Apple TV." "That is the de facto standard in America," Musk wrote. "This will vary in other regions according to the laws on a country by country basis." 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. watch now