Elon Musk’s ex-girlfriend must face xAI forum countersuit

Ashley St. Clair, Elon Musk's former girlfriend and the mother of one of his children, claimed Musk's chatbot Grok was used to generate explicit images of her. In a countersuit, xAI and X claims her suit must be filed in Texas rather than New York.WICHITA FALLS, Texas (CN) — A Texas federal judge Wednesday declined to dismiss a breach of contract lawsuit against Elon Musk’s former girlfriend Ashley St. Clair by Musk’s social media platform X and his artificial intelligence company xAI.Earlier this year, St. Clair, who shares a child with Musk, sued xAI in New York, claiming the company’s chatbot Grok had been used to generate sexualized images of her, including by altering a photo of her at 14 years old.In response, X and xAI countersued in the Northern District of Texas, claiming St. Clair violated forum selection clauses in the companies’ terms of service requiring that suits be brought in Texas courts.St. Clair moved to dismiss the case, but U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor found the companies sufficiently claimed St. Clair assented to the forum selection clauses by creating and continuing to use X and xAI accounts, and that the clauses cover her lawsuit.“Defendant maintains that her claims arise independently of any contractual relationship because they concern xAI’s alleged misconduct in generating sexually explicit images without her consent. But the forum-selection clauses are not expressly limited to contractual causes of action. Rather, they encompass disputes related to the services and content generated or disseminated through those services,” O’Connor, a George W. Bush appointee, wrote.“Here, plaintiffs allege that defendant’s New York action concerns content generated by Grok and disseminated through the X platform. Given the clauses’ express references to disputes concerning content and others’ use of the services, plaintiffs have plausibly alleged that defendant’s claims fall within their scope.”Musk and his companies have faced scrutiny over the use of Grok to generate sexually explicit or suggestive “deepfake” images of people without their consent.According to a lawsuit by the city of Baltimore, between Dec. 29, 2025 and Jan. 8, 2026, Grok generated around 3 million sexualized images, including 23,000 that appear to depict children.In February, the European Union launched a privacy investigation into X over the use of Grok to generate nonconsensual sexualized images.Grok’s explicit image generation has also been at the center of other legal battles. In June, a U.K. lawmaker sued xAI for invasion of privacy, claiming Grok was used to generate fake images of her in a bikini.Meanwhile, xAI is challenging a first-in-the-nation Minnesota law banning AI “nudification,” claiming the statute, which prohibits anyone who owns or controls a website, app or software from allowing users to sexually alter images using AI, violates the First Amendment.The Eighth Circuit granted a preliminary injunction earlier this month pausing enforcement of the law while xAI challenges a lower court’s refusal to block it.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads