Former engineer sues xAI claiming retaliation over Grok safety warnings
Image: TechCrunch Devin Kim, a former xAI engineer, filed suit against the company and its parent SpaceX in California state court, claiming he was fired for raising AI safety concerns, TechCrunch reported. The complaint arrives days before SpaceX is set to join the public markets.
According to the lawsuit, Kim repeatedly complained about safety prioritization in Grok's development, including risks that the chatbot could foment discrimination and help spread information about weapons of mass destruction. Kim left xAI in September 2025 and was named president of the nonprofit Center for AI Safety last week.
The claim targets Kim's former supervisor, xAI co-founder Jimmy Ba, who left the company earlier this year, rather than Elon Musk, whom the filing describes as having directed xAI to follow the law. xAI and SpaceX did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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