Ashley St. Clair, the mother of one of Elon Musk's children, revealed in a CBS Mornings interview that aired Tuesday that Grok, the AI chatbot on Musk's social media platform X, had been used to generate sexual deepfake images of her without consent, including manipulated photos from when she was a minor.
"The worst for me was seeing myself undressed, bent over, and then my toddler's backpack in the background," the 27-year-old author said. "Because I had to then see that and see myself violated in that way, in such horrific images and then put that same backpack on my son the next day, because it's the one he wears every day to school."
Grok Continued Despite Pledging to Stop
St. Clair, who has a one-year-old son with Musk, said she directly confronted the AI chatbot about the images. "Grok said, 'I confirm that you don't consent. I will no longer produce these images.' And then it continued to produce more and more images, and more and more explicit images," she said.
After filing a report with xAI, which operates Grok, some of the images were removed. St. Clair emphasised that addressing the issue could be straightforward: "This can be stopped with a singular message to an engineer."
St. Clair said her ability to earn money on X has been revoked since she began speaking out. When asked if she plans to take legal action, she said she is "considering all options available."
Musk Threatens Custody Action
The interview comes as Musk, 54, publicly announced on Monday that he would file for full custody of their son, claiming St. Clair's recent statements "implying she might transition a one-year-old boy." St. Clair had apologised over the weekend for past transphobic remarks, expressing "immense guilt" and referencing Musk's transgender daughter Vivian.
A source close to St. Clair called Musk's custody claim "absurd and unequivocally false." St. Clair is also pursuing sole custody and previously claimed Musk was absent at their son's birth and has met him only three times.
Global Regulatory Backlash
The interview aired as Grok faces mounting international scrutiny. Malaysia and Indonesia became the first countries to ban the chatbot over the weekend, citing "repeated misuse" to generate obscene and non-consensual manipulated images, particularly of women and minors.
In the United Kingdom, Ofcom opened a formal investigation into X on Monday. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the situation "disgraceful" and "disgusting," adding that X must "get a grip." Technology Secretary Liz Kendall announced the government would intensify enforcement of laws against non-consensual intimate images.
A study by AI Forensics, which analysed over 20,000 Grok-generated images, found that 53% contained individuals in minimal attire, with 81% of those being women. Roughly 2% appeared to depict individuals under 18.
St. Clair called for government intervention: "AI should not be allowed to generate and undress children and women. That's what needs to happen."