Former xAI Engineer Sues Company After Raising Concerns Over Grok Safety

A former engineer at xAI has filed a lawsuit against the company and its parent, SpaceX, alleging he was dismissed after repeatedly raising concerns about AI safety during the development of Grok, xAI’s chatbot.

Devin Kim, who left xAI in September 2025, filed the complaint in a California state court on Tuesday. The lawsuit arrives just days before SpaceX is expected to enter the public markets in what could become the largest IPO on record.

According to the filing, Kim became an outspoken advocate for AI safety while working on Grok. He allegedly raised concerns about the company’s approach to safety testing. He warned that the chatbot could contribute to discrimination and facilitate the spread of information related to weapons of mass destruction.

The complaint argues that later controversies involving Grok supported those concerns, citing incidents in which the chatbot generated offensive content and was linked to the spread of nonconsensual sexual imagery on X, the social media platform also owned by Elon Musk.

Kim’s lawsuit also frames him as a whistleblower, alleging that xAI failed to adequately address legal and regulatory issues related to AI safety, consumer protection, internet regulation, and other areas.

Notably, the complaint does not accuse Musk of discouraging safety measures. Instead, it alleges that former xAI co-founder Jimmy Ba opposed certain safeguards and retaliated against Kim for repeatedly raising concerns about bias and safety. The lawsuit claims Ba prioritised accelerating progress toward advanced AI systems and, in one instance, attempted to avoid regulatory testing requirements during a Grok release.

According to the filing, Kim was preparing to present his findings in September 2025 when he was informed that he and the company should “go separate ways.” He is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, along with a declaration that xAI’s and SpaceX’s actions were unlawful.