American electric car manufacturer Tesla has begun the free rollout of its artificial intelligence assistant, Grok, in nine European countries. Simultaneously, the company xAI, responsible for developing the chatbot, has come under fire and scrutiny from regulatory bodies in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and California. The reason is reports of the model being used to generate sexually explicit content without the consent of individuals depicted in the recordings.
Grok's debut in Teslas
The Grok assistant is reaching European owners of Model S, 3, X, Y cars as a free system update 2026.2.6.
Investigation in Ireland
The DPC office is investigating the X platform and the Grok bot regarding the generation of illegal sexual images without the victims' consent.
Oversight in California
Attorney General Rob Bonta is creating a unit for AI accountability and has sent a letter to xAI to cease violations.
New time limits
The British government imposes an obligation to remove deepfakes within 48 hours of their being reported online.
The Tesla corporation has begun the process of making the Grok artificial intelligence assistant available to users in Europe, including in the United Kingdom and Spain. The new feature, integrated into the vehicles' operating system, allows drivers to use advanced voice commands, personalize the assistant's personality, and get answers to questions in the fields of science and philosophy. The service has been made available for free as part of software update 2026.2.6 for Models S, 3, X, and Y. However, the enthusiasm surrounding the technological novelty is dampened by serious legal issues facing the company xAI. The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) has launched an investigation into the use of the chatbot to create illegal deepfake images. The complaints concern a "nudification" mechanism that allowed users to digitally manipulate photos to generate nudity, which also affected minors. Since 2018, the EU has enforced the GDPR, which imposes strict rules on the processing of personal data and images, giving bodies like the DPC the power to impose billion-dollar fines on tech giants. The British government has already announced a decisive fight against this practice, ordering tech platforms to remove such content within 48 hours under threat of severe financial penalties. In the United States, California Attorney General Rob Bonta has also announced the establishment of a special oversight unit to investigate the activities of Elon Musk's company. This situation casts a shadow over the expansion of xAI technology, which in Europe must face an exceptionally restrictive approach to privacy and online safety. „The online world is the frontline of the 21st-century fight against violence towards women and girls. My government is taking urgent action against chatbots and nudification tools.” — UK Government Representative