Under Musk, the Grok disaster was inevitable
Under Musk, the Grok disaster was inevitable

This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on dystopian developments in AI, follow Hayden Field. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers’ inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. How it started You could say it all started with Elon Musk’s AI […]

California AG sends Musk’s xAI a cease-and-desist order over sexual deepfakes

The flood of AI-generated sexual imagery has spurred concern from state and congressional officials alike.

EPA rules that xAI’s natural gas generators were illegally used

Elon Musk’s AI company had installed and operated 35 natural gas turbines without permits, something the EPA now says was illegal.

X is down for the second time this week

Elon Musk’s X, formerly Twitter, is down for the second time this week. Nearly 80,000 reports have spiked on Down Detector since around 10am ET Friday morning.

‘Sideshow’ concerns and billionaire dreams: What I learned from Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI
‘Sideshow’ concerns and billionaire dreams: What I learned from Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI

This is an excerpt of Sources by Alex Heath, a newsletter about AI and the tech industry, syndicated just for The Verge subscribers once a week. Elon Musk first sued OpenAI in February 2024. Despite OpenAI’s repeated attempts to throw it out, the case is now headed to a jury trial on April 27th in […]

Grok undressed the mother of one of Elon Musk’s kids — and now she’s suing
Grok undressed the mother of one of Elon Musk’s kids — and now she’s suing

Ashley St. Clair, the mother of one of X owner Elon Musk’s children, is suing his company for enabling its AI to virtually strip her down into a bikini without her consent. St. Clair is one of the many people over the past couple weeks who have found themselves undressed without permission by X’s AI […]

US senators demand answers from X, Meta, Alphabet on sexualized deepfakes

In a letter to the leaders of X, Meta, Alphabet, Snap, Reddit and TikTok, several U.S. senators are demanding the companies provide proof that they have “robust protections and policies” in place, and how they plan to curb the rise of sexualized deepfa…

Musk denies awareness of Grok sexual underage images as California AG launches probe

The California attorney general has opened a formal investigation into Elon Musk’s xAI after its chatbot Grok began generating nonconsensual sexual images of real women and even children.

Tesla will only offer subscriptions for Full Self-Driving (Supervised) going forward

It’s a huge change to Tesla’s approach with FSD, and it could impact Musk’s $1T pay package and the company’s myriad legal troubles.

Tesla to stop selling FSD as a standalone package and switch to subscription only
Tesla to stop selling FSD as a standalone package and switch to subscription only

As its sales continue to slip and its robotaxi strategy seems to falter, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said today that the company would stop selling its Full Self-Driving feature as a standalone package. Instead, starting on February 14th, the Level 2 driver-assist system would be offered as a monthly subscription only. The news marks a […]