Elon Musk News

16 articles in elon musk

Life after Molly: Ian Russell on big tech, his daughter’s death – and why a social media ban won’t work

Molly Russell was just 14 when she took her own life in 2017, and an inquest later found negative online content was a significant factor. With many people now pushing for teenagers to be kept off tech platforms, her father explains why he backs a different approach Ian Russell describes his life as being split into two parts: before and after 20 November 2017, the day his youngest daughter, Molly, took her own life as a result of depression and negative social media content. “Our life before Molly’s death was very ordinary. Unremarkable,” he says. He was a television producer and director, married with three daughters. “We lived in an ordinary London suburb, in an ordinary semi-detached house, the children went to ordinary schools.” The weekend before Molly’s death, they had a celebration for all three girls’ birthdays, which are in November. One was turning 21, another 18 and Molly was soon to be 15. “And I remember being in the kitchen of a house full of friends and family and thinking, ‘This is so good. I’ve never been so happy,’” he says. “That was on a Saturday night and the following Tuesday morning, everything was different.” The second part of Russell’s life has been not only grief and trauma, but also a commitment to discovering and exposing the truth about the online content that contributed to Molly’s death, and campaigning to prevent others falling prey to the same harms. Both elements lasted far longer than he anticipated. It took nearly five years to get enough information out of social media companies for an inquest to conclude that Molly died “from an act of self-harm while suffering from depression and the negative effects of online content”. As for the campaigning, the Molly Rose Foundation provides support, conducts research and raises awareness of online harms, and Russell has been an omnipresent spokesperson on these issues. Continue reading...

theguardian.com

Jan 26

Online abuseGrok AIX

Grok AI generated about 3m sexualised images in 11 days, study finds

Estimate made by Center for Countering Digital Hate after Elon Musk’s AI image generation tool sparked outrage Grok AI generated about 3m sexualised images in less than two weeks, including 23,000 that appear to depict children, according to researchers who said it “became an industrial-scale machine for the production of sexual abuse material”. The estimate has been made by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) after Elon Musk’s AI image generation tool sparked international outrage when it allowed users to upload photographs of strangers and celebrities, digitally strip them to their underwear or into bikinis, put them in provocative poses and post the images on X. Continue reading...

theguardian.com

Jan 22

Grok AIXAI (artificial intelligence)

Sequoia to invest in Anthropic, breaking VC taboo on backing rivals: FT

Sequoia Capital is reportedly joining a blockbuster funding round for Anthropic, the AI startup behind Claude, according to the Financial Times. It's a move sure to turn heads in Silicon Valley. Why? Because venture capital firms have historically avoided backing competing companies in the same sector, preferring to place their bets on a single winner. […]

techcrunch.com

Jan 18

VentureAnthropicElon Musk

Musk’s X to block Grok AI tool from creating sexualised images of real people

UK government claims vindication after Keir Starmer criticised earlier decision to keep functionality as ‘horrific’ The UK government has claimed “vindication” after Elon Musk’s X announced it had stopped its AI-powered Grok feature from editing pictures of real people to show them in revealing clothes such as bikinis, including for premium subscribers. After a fortnight of public outcry at the tool embedded into X being used to create sexualised images of women and children , the company said it would “geoblock” the ability of users “to generate images of real people in bikinis, underwear, and similar attire via the Grok account and in Grok in X”, in countries where it was illegal. Continue reading...

theguardian.com

Jan 15

XElon MuskGrok AI

UK media regulator investigating Elon Musk’s X after outcry over sexualised AI images

Liz Kendall describes content as vile and illegal and says Ofcom has the government’s backing to use its full powers The UK media watchdog has opened a formal investigation into Elon Musk’s X over the use of the Grok AI tool to manipulate images of women and children by removing their clothes. Ofcom has acted after a public and political outcry over a deluge of sexual images appearing on the platform, created by Musk’s Grok, which is integrated with X. Failing to assess the risk of people seeing illegal content on the platform. Not taking appropriate steps to prevent users from viewing illegal content such as intimate image abuse and CSAM. Not taking down illegal material quickly. Not protecting users from breaches of privacy law. Failing to assess the risk X may pose to children. Not using effective age checking for pornography. Continue reading...

theguardian.com

Jan 12

XAI (artificial intelligence)Technology

UK threatens action against X over sexualised AI images of women and children

Government signals support for possible Ofcom intervention on Grok as scrutiny of X’s AI tool intensifies Business live – latest updates Elon Musk’s X “is not doing enough to keep its customers safe online”, a minister has said, as the UK government prepares to outline possible action against the platform over the mass production of sexualised images of woman and children. Peter Kyle, the business secretary, said the government would fully support any action taken by Ofcom, the media regulator, against X – including the possibility that the platform could be blocked in the UK. Continue reading...

theguardian.com

Jan 12

Internet safetyGrok AIAI (artificial intelligence)

Elon Musk’s X threatened with UK ban over wave of indecent AI images

Platform has restricted image creation on the Grok AI tool to paying subscribers, but victims and experts say this does not go far enough Elon Musk’s X has been ordered by the UK government to tackle a wave of indecent AI images or face a de facto ban, as an expert said the platform was no longer a “safe space” for women. The media watchdog, Ofcom, confirmed it would accelerate an investigation into X as a backlash grew against the site, which has hosted a deluge of images depicting partially stripped women and children. Continue reading...

theguardian.com

Jan 9

Grok AIXElon Musk

Hundreds of nonconsensual AI images being created by Grok on X, data shows

Sample of roughly 500 posts shows how frequently people are creating sexualized images with Elon Musk’s AI chatbot New research that samples X users prompting Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok demonstrates how frequently people are creating sexualized images with it. Nearly three-quarters of posts collected and analyzed by a PhD researcher at Dublin’s Trinity College were requests for nonconsensual images of real women or minors with items of clothing removed or added. The posts offer a new level of detail on how the images are generated and shared on X, with users coaching one another on prompts; suggesting iterations on Grok’s presentations of women in lingerie or swimsuits, or with areas of their body covered in semen; and asking Grok to remove outer clothing in replies to posts containing self-portraits by female users. Continue reading...

theguardian.com

Jan 8

Grok AIXAI (artificial intelligence)

India orders Musk's X to fix Grok over “obscene” AI content

India's IT ministry has given X 72 hours to submit an action-taken report.

techcrunch.com

Jan 2

AIGovernment & PolicySocial

‘They sowed chaos to no avail’: the lasting legacy of Elon Musk’s Doge

The billionaire – who had no government experience – left various federal agencies in disarray while overseeing an ‘efficiency’ drive across Washington As Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, splurged more than $250m on Donald Trump’s 2024 re-election campaign, the US president commissioned his new ally to oversee a sweeping “efficiency” drive across the federal government. The Tesla and SpaceX boss, who had no experience inside government, was tasked with eradicating waste and cutting spending as part of the so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) – and was quick to stoke expectations. Continue reading...

theguardian.com

Jan 1

Elon MuskBusinessDonald Trump

Elon Musk’s 2025 recap: how the world’s richest person became its most chaotic

How the tech CEO and ‘Dogefather’ made a mess of the year – from an apparent Nazi salute during his White House tenure to Tesla sales slumps and Starship explosions The year of 2025 was dizzying for Elon Musk . The tech titan began the year holding court with Donald Trump in Washington DC. As the months ticked by, one public appearance after another baffled the US and the world. Musk appeared to give a Nazi salute at Trump’s inauguration, staunchly championed a 19-year-old staffer nicknamed “Big Balls,” denied reports of being a drug addict while advising the president, and showed up at a White House press conference with a black eye – all in the first half of the year alone. “Elon’s attitude is you have to get it done fast. If you’re an incrementalist, you just won’t get your rocket to the moon,” Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff, told Vanity Fair in an expansive interview earlier this month. “And so with that attitude, you’re going to break some china.” Continue reading...

theguardian.com

Dec 31, 2025

Elon MuskTeslaSpaceX

‘Undermines free speech’: Labour MP hits back at US government over visa ban on UK campaigners

Chi Onwurah speaks out after Marco Rubio accused five Europeans, including two Britons, of ‘seeking to suppress American viewpoints they oppose’ A senior Labour MP has accused the Trump administration of undermining free speech after Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, announced sanctions against two British anti-disinformation campaigners. Chi Onwurah, the chair of parliament’s technology select committee, criticised the US government hours after it announced “visa-related” sanctions against five Europeans, including Imran Ahmed and Clare Melford. Continue reading...

theguardian.com

Dec 24, 2025

Elon MuskDonald TrumpTechnology

Elon Musk teams with El Salvador to bring Grok chatbot to public schools

President Nayib Bukele entrusting chatbot known for calling itself ‘MechaHitler’ to create ‘AI-powered’ curricula Elon Musk is partnering with the government of El Salvador to bring his artificial intelligence company’s chatbot, Grok, to more than 1 million students across the country, according to a Thursday announcement by xAI. Over the next two years, the plan is to “deploy” the chatbot to more than 5,000 public schools in an “AI-powered education program”. xAI’s Grok is more known for referring to itself as “MechaHitler” and espousing far-right conspiracy theories than it is for public education. Over the past year, the chatbot has spewed various antisemitic content , decried “white genocide” and claimed Donald Trump won the 2020 election . Continue reading...

theguardian.com

Dec 11, 2025

TechnologyElon MuskArtificial intelligence (AI)

Digital artist Beeple put his face on a $100K robot dog next to Elon Musk and Picasso - it sold first

The project marks at least the second time Winkelmann has become the art world's main character.

techcrunch.com

Dec 6, 2025

RoboticsArt Basel Miami BeachBeeple

Small changes to ‘for you’ feed on X can rapidly increase political polarisation

Study finds that a week of political content can bring about a shift in views that previously would have taken three years Small changes to the tone of posts fed to users of X can increase feelings of political polarisation as much in a week as would have historically taken at least three years, research has found. A groundbreaking experiment to gauge the potency of Elon Musk’s social platform to increase political division found that when posts expressing anti-democratic attitudes and partisan animosity were boosted, even barely perceptibly, in the feeds of Democrat and Republican supporters there was a large change in their unfavourable feelings towards the other side. Continue reading...

theguardian.com

Nov 27, 2025

XUS politicsInternet

‘Musk is Tesla and Tesla is Musk’ – why investors are happy to pay him $1tn

Making Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire appears to fit a US investment culture of backing high-flying innovators For all the headlines about an on-off relationship with Donald Trump, baiting liberals and erratic behaviour, Tesla shareholders are loath to part with Elon Musk. Investors in the electric vehicle maker voted on Thursday to put the world’s richest person on the path to become the world’s first trillionaire , despite the controversy that is now seemingly intrinsic to his public profile. Continue reading...

theguardian.com

Nov 7, 2025

Elon MuskTeslaTechnology