xAI fired an engineer who raised alarms about Grok safety, new lawsuit claims
A former xAI engineer named Devin Kim has sued xAI and SpaceX in California state court, claiming he was fired in retaliation for repeatedly raising safety concerns about the Grok chatbot. The suit landed days before SpaceX's stock market debut, set to be the largest initial public offering on record at roughly $75 billion raised. Kim, who left xAI in September 2025, now serves as president of the nonprofit Center for AI Safety.
Key Takeaways
- A former xAI engineer is suing the company and SpaceX, alleging he was fired for raising AI safety concerns about Grok days before SpaceX's historic IPO.
A former engineer at Elon Musk's xAI has filed suit against the company and its parent SpaceX claiming he was fired for raising concerns about AI safety.
- In particular, Kim was concerned with the possibility that Grok could foment discrimination and help spread information about weapons of mass destruction.
"Grok, of course, proved Mr. Kim right by engaging in spectacular displays of online hatred and vitriol, with the model likening itself to Hitler (' MechaHitler ')," the lawsuit reads.
- Kim's focus on AI safety predates his time at xAI.
While working at Scale AI, Kim worked on early safety AI initiatives, like leading a project that produced training data for AI to train systems to detect harmful content and comply with governance policies.
- The lawsuit portrays Ba as someone who vehemently opposed AI safety measures, allegedly telling Kim at one point "AI will kill us all anyway," and who was instead driven by a mission to make xAI the first to reach superintelligence.
"In one instance in or around August 2025, Mr. Ba attempted to thwart EU safety regulations during the release of Grok Code 1, misrepresenting aspects of the model in order to avoid legally required testing," the complaint says.
- Kim is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, as well as a declaratory judgment that xAI and SpaceX's conduct was unlawful.
Stats & Key Facts
- #The suit landed days before SpaceX's stock market debut, set to be the largest initial public offering on record at roughly $75 billion raised.
- #"In one instance in or around August 2025, Mr. Ba attempted to thwart EU safety regulations during the release of Grok Code 1, misrepresenting aspects of the model in order to avoid legally required testing," the complaint says.
A former xAI engineer is suing the company and SpaceX, alleging he was fired for raising AI safety concerns about Grok days before SpaceX's historic IPO. A former engineer at Elon Musk's xAI has filed suit against the company and its parent SpaceX claiming he was fired for raising concerns about AI safety. Devin Kim, who left xAI in September 2025, filed the suit in a California state court on Tuesday.
According to the lawsuit , which TechCrunch has viewed, Kim became a prominent voice for AI safety while working on Grok, xAI's AI chatbot. He allegedly complained repeatedly about xAI's failure to prioritize safety in Grok's development, a product that has since come under fire for a range of safety and behavioral issues.
In particular, Kim was concerned with the possibility that Grok could foment discrimination and help spread information about weapons of mass destruction. "Grok, of course, proved Mr. Kim right by engaging in spectacular displays of online hatred and vitriol, with the model likening itself to Hitler (' MechaHitler ')," the lawsuit reads. "Following the Hitler debacle, Mr. Kim worked to re-evaluate Grok's political bias and discriminatory tendencies."
For more details please read the original article at TechCrunch AI.
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