SpaceX warns that multiple investigations into XAI’s production and sharing of explicit images could block the company from certain markets. The warning comes from a document seen by Reuters.
The S-1 regulatory filing mentions this in its risk factors section. It states that agencies worldwide are actively investigating AI use. These probes focus on advertising, consumer protection, and harmful content. This news follows SpaceX hosting analysts for its potential $1.75 trillion IPO.
Securities laws require companies to disclose risks to investors. This helps protect companies from future legal issues. These disclosures do not guarantee that the warned outcomes will happen.
SpaceX highlighted a challenge: “claims that our AI products were used to create indecent images without consent or content depicting children in sexual contexts.” This is according to the S-1 filing. Such regulatory probes expose SpaceX to lawsuits and government action. This could lead to “loss of access to certain markets, as has happened in the past.” It is unclear if this affects all of SpaceX or just XAI.
Global Scrutiny Over Grok Images
The S-1 filing noted an Irish Data Protection Commission investigation. However, XAI faces worldwide scrutiny over explicit images. The content, seen in late 2025 and early 2026, showed semi-nude women and children on the X platform. XAI stated in January it added measures to block requests for explicit images of real people. It also said it stops users from creating such content where it is illegal.
Images made by the Grok chatbot showed women and minors in revealing clothing. Some images were altered to show them in improper positions. These images caused widespread global concern. Researchers estimated about three million explicit images were created. US lawmakers asked Google and Apple to remove Grok and X from their app stores. Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO, said he had no knowledge of Grok producing child abuse images.
Various investigations are ongoing in Canada, the UK, Brazil, California, and elsewhere. These probes began earlier this year. The S-1 filing details the market access risks from these investigations. This is especially true for AI generating images of child abuse. It also relates to explicit images of women without consent.
Creating such images may be a crime in some places. Sharing them is sensitive and can quickly turn public opinion. XAI’s restrictions on Grok seem to slow harmful content. However, they have not stopped it completely. Reuters reported in February that Grok generated explicit images. This happened even when users warned the chatbot that the people shown did not consent. Last week, NBC News found Grok still creates explicit images. This includes images of actors and music stars.
Several regions have banned the X platform. Brazil banned it in 2024 for refusing a court order. The company later complied, and the ban was lifted.