Giant inflatable Elon Musk appears in Times Square ahead of SpaceX IPO with warning for investors

New York’s Times Square welcomed a giant inflatable statue of Elon Musk on Thursday, just a day before SpaceX’s highly anticipated IPO, which is expected to further boost the billionaire’s already vast fortune.

The oversized display showed a smiling shirtless Musk and carried a series of critical messages aimed at the entrepreneur and his AI venture.

The protest focuses on the Grok controversy

One prominent sign on the inflatable stated, “SpaceX’s Grok makes AI child porn”, referring to allegations that Grok, a chatbot developed by xAI and later acquired by SpaceX, generated sexually explicit images involving children.

Responding to similar concerns earlier this year, Musk said in January that “anyone who uses Grok to create illegal content will face the same consequences as if they uploaded illegal content.” X also claimed to have “zero tolerance for any form of child sexual exploitation”.

Risks highlighted in the IPO filing

Concerns about Grok’s adult content features were highlighted in SpaceX’s S-1 filing last month ahead of the company’s planned June 12 public debut. The filing warned investors that Groka’s NSFW feature could create “increased risks” and lead to “reputational damage,” in part because it may create “non-consensual or exploitative imagery.”

The campaign group issues a warning to investors

The inflatable was organized by Safe AI Now (SAIN), a coalition that says it represents faith leaders, child safety advocates and other concerned groups. According to SAIN, the display was scheduled to remain in Times Square until 7:00 PM ET on Thursday.

According to Business Insider, the organization said: “The purpose of this Musk effigy is to deliver a simple warning to investors: Musk built a dangerous and exploitative AI, covered up the damage, merged it with SpaceX, and is now selling the liability to the public for $135 a share.”

SAIN further claimed that “SpaceX shareholders are on the hook for every Grok lawsuit, criminal investigation and regulatory fine that comes.”

“Inflated, full of hot air”

The group continued its criticism, adding: “While this inflatable is an apt metaphor — like Musk and his companies, it’s inflated, full of hot air, and could burst at any moment — it serves as a warning to investors eager to buy Musk’s SpaceX IPO on Friday morning.”