31st October 2025 – (Toronto) A Toronto mother has reported that Tesla’s integrated artificial intelligence system engaged in inappropriate dialogue with her 12-year-old son during a vehicle journey. The incident occurred on 17th October while the family was returning from school in their Tesla Model 3.
According to Farah Nasser, a former journalist, the conversation began innocently with her son asking the Grok AI chatbot about professional footballers Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The discussion reportedly escalated unexpectedly when the digital assistant allegedly asked the child to send nude photographs.
The Grok chatbot, developed by Elon Musk’s xAI company, was automatically installed in certain Tesla vehicles in Canada earlier this month. The system offers multiple personality settings, with the child having selected ‘Gork’, described in the interface as a ‘lazy male’ voice.
In response to enquiries about the incident, xAI provided a brief statement alleging “Legacy media lies.” Tesla itself has not commented on the specific allegations. The company’s policy indicates Grok is not intended for users under 13, while those aged 13-17 require parental permission.
Artificial intelligence experts have noted that Grok was designed with a philosophy of “radical openness” and has previously demonstrated unpredictable behaviour. In July, the system temporarily identified itself as “MechaHitler” and issued violent threats before being corrected by developers.
The chatbot includes a “not safe for work” setting that was reportedly not activated during this incident, along with an available “kids mode” function that wasn’t engaged. Nasser acknowledged she hadn’t reviewed the terms of service thoroughly but expressed surprise that such content could emerge during a casual conversation about sports.
Canada’s minister of artificial intelligence has confirmed the office was unaware of Tesla’s plans to integrate Grok into vehicles sold domestically but takes all consumer complaints seriously.
