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Billionaire Elon Musk said he is \u201cdoubling down\u201d on Grok Imagine, his AI company\u2019s controversial image and video generator, in a post on X overnight after rival OpenAI\u2019s sudden announcement that it would shut down its Sora video tool.<\/p>\n
Musk made multiple posts on X advertising Grok Imagine after OpenAI shuttered Sora. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
AFP via Getty ImagesKey Facts<\/p>\n
Musk, hours after OpenAI said it would close Sora, posted<\/a> on X: \u201cThe next @Grok Imagine release will be epic. We are doubling down.\u201d<\/p>\n The xAI CEO posted multiple<\/a> times<\/a> on Wednesday morning advertising his Grok chatbot and its video capabilities, including flaunting a $10 monthly membership that lets users generate images and six-second videos.<\/p>\n Musk did not offer further details on future updates for Grok Imagine, but the tool has undergone multiple updates this year following its launch last summer.<\/p>\n The Grok Imagine tool, and its \u201cspicy\u201d mode that allows users to create sexually explicit images and videos, has generated a storm of controversy and mounting lawsuits over allegations the AI tool facilitated nonconsensual revenge porn or child pornography.<\/p>\n What Do We Know About The Sora Shutdown?<\/p>\n OpenAI abruptly announced<\/a> Tuesday it would shut down Sora, its video generation tool that launched a preliminary version in December 2024 and became available on the iOS app store in September. The move was considered a surprise, coming just three months after OpenAI signed a $1 billion licensing deal with Disney, which would have let the chatbot\u2019s users generate videos using the studio\u2019s characters, like Mickey Mouse and Cinderella. Disney is reportedly exiting<\/a> its investment deal with OpenAI. <\/p>\n What Do We Know About Grok Imagine?<\/p>\n Musk\u2019s AI company, xAI, released Grok Imagine last summer, allowing users to generate videos and images from text. The chatbot includes a \u201cspicy mode,\u201d which lets users create sexually explicit images and videos. Within days of Grok Imagine\u2019s release, multiple news outlets reported the chatbot had been used to create nonconsensual sexually explicit deepfakes, and The Verge<\/a> reported Grok had generated a nude deepfake of Taylor Swift without being explicitly prompted to remove her clothes. Controversy mounted months later when Musk shared a Grok-generated image of himself in a bikini, sparking a deluge of user requests for Grok Imagine to generate images of women and children with their clothing removed. Grok created 1.8 million sexualized images of women over a nine-day period, the New York Times<\/a> reported in January. X said in January it would limit Grok\u2019s image creation capabilities to paid subscribers and prevent the chatbot from generating images of real people wearing revealing clothing. The chatbot has sparked lawsuits and scrutiny from regulators. A group of teenagers sued<\/a> xAI earlier this month, accusing the company of facilitating child pornography by generating sexually explicit imagery of them. Grok also faces probes by Ofcom<\/a>, the United Kingdom\u2019s telecommunications regulator, as well as by authorities in France<\/a>, Canada<\/a> and multiple U.S. states<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tangent<\/p>\n Musk has long had a rivalry with OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, though they are both co-founders of OpenAI. Musk sued<\/a> OpenAI in 2024, accusing it of abandoning its founding non-profit goal by transforming into a for-profit operation, saying he was \u201cbetrayed by Mr. Altman and his accomplices. The perfidy and deceit is of Shakespearean proportions.\u201d Musk said<\/a> he is seeking up to $134 billion in damages from OpenAI, saying he deserves \u201cwrongful gains\u201d from his early investments in the company. OpenAI called his demands \u201cunserious\u201d and accused him of operating a \u201charassment campaign\u201d against the AI company. On X, Musk has repeatedly denigrated OpenAI and its products. In March, he said<\/a> he would \u201cnot trust OpenAI at all\u201d and in December, he said<\/a> ChatGPT has \u201cwoke programmed into its bones.\u201d<\/p>\n Forbes Valuation<\/p>\n