Judge rejects Musk-owned SpaceXAI’s bid to block deepfake ban

A federal judge Friday refused to block a Minnesota law prohibiting the creation of sexually explicit deepfake images that's being challenged by Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company, SpaceXAI.

U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank said the company , formerly known as xAI , waited too long in making its last-minute request to temporarily block the law while its broader legal challenge plays out. SpaceXAI waited three months to file its lawsuit, which came three days before the law took effect on Aug. 1. Frank wrote that any harm to SpaceXAI's business can be addressed in later court orders if the company is ultimately able to show the law violates the First Amendment.

SpaceXAI operates the social media platform X and the AI tool Grok.

The judge said the state's interests outweigh the company's, pointing to legislative evidence about a "range of harms caused by AI-nudification technology," including nonconsensual porn and child sexual-abuse material. Frank noted the company is facing a spate of lawsuits related to Grok's creation of sexualized images.

"The State has enacted, democratically and nearly unanimously, a civil statute aimed at protecting the public from the undisputed harm stemming from AI-nudification technology and the resulting proliferation of photorealistic sexualized images," the judge wrote. "And when comparing the interests of the State with any potential harm to xAI, the Court finds without hesitation that the balance of the equities weighs heavily in favor of the State."

SpaceXAI argued that increased content moderation could cost it revenue and users, pointing to fines that can hit $500,000 per violation.

The Justice Department filed a statement of interest in the case that largely adopts SpaceXAI's arguments that Minnesota's law violates free speech rights, and cites an executive order by President Donald Trump that seeks to restrict state AI regulations.

SpaceXAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.