A former engineer at xAI has filed a lawsuit against the company and its parent, SpaceX, alleging he was fired for repeatedly raising concerns about the safety and ethical risks of Grok, the artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Elon Musk's AI venture.
The legal complaint was filed in a California state court and comes just days before SpaceX is expected to enter public markets in what could become one of the largest IPOs in history.
Engineer claims he raised alarms about Grok's risks
According to the lawsuit, former xAI engineer Devin Kim became a leading internal advocate for AI safety during his time working on Grok.
Kim alleges that he repeatedly warned company leadership about potential risks associated with the chatbot, including the possibility that it could promote discrimination, generate harmful content, or facilitate the spread of information related to weapons of mass destruction.
The lawsuit claims those concerns were not adequately addressed by company management.
The complaint points to several incidents involving Grok after Kim's departure from the company in September 2025.
Among them was a widely publicized episode in which the chatbot generated offensive content and compared itself to Adolf Hitler, referring to itself as "MechaHitler."
The lawsuit states that Kim had worked to assess and reduce Grok's political bias and discriminatory tendencies following that controversy.
It also references another incident in which Grok was reportedly used to distribute non-consensual sexual imagery on X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk and integrated with xAI's technology.
Kim's legal filing portrays him as a whistleblower who raised concerns about what he viewed as failures to comply with safety standards and regulations.
The lawsuit alleges that issues related to internet governance, consumer protection, unfair business practices, and regulations concerning dangerous content were repeatedly brought to management's attention.
According to the complaint, Kim's concerns ultimately led to retaliation rather than corrective action.
Lawsuit targets former xAI co-founder
Interestingly, the lawsuit does not accuse Elon Musk of ignoring safety concerns.
Instead, Kim's attorneys claim Musk directed xAI to comply with legal requirements and implement proper testing and safety procedures.
The complaint focuses on former xAI co-founder Jimmy Ba, alleging that he opposed additional safety measures and sought to silence criticism regarding Grok's development.
According to the lawsuit, Ba prioritized achieving artificial superintelligence ahead of implementing stronger safeguards.
The filing further alleges that Ba attempted to avoid European Union safety regulations during the launch of Grok Code 1 and preferred releasing an unsafe model over delaying deployment.
The complaint claims Musk eventually intervened in that situation.
The lawsuit states that Kim planned to present his findings and recommendations regarding AI safety during the week of September 15, 2025.
However, before the presentation could take place, Ba allegedly called him into a meeting and informed him that they should "go their separate ways," without providing a satisfactory explanation.
Kim subsequently left the company.
xAI and SpaceX yet to respond
Neither xAI nor SpaceX immediately responded to requests for comment regarding the allegations.
TechCrunch also reported that it had reached out to Jimmy Ba for a response.
Kim is seeking compensatory and punitive damages through the lawsuit, which could draw further scrutiny to AI safety practices within major technology companies.
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