MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | Elon Musk’s X.AI Sues Minnesota Over Law Restricting AI “Nudification” Technology

ST. PAUL, MN (July 29, 2026). Elon Musk’s artificial-intelligence company X.AI has sued Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, seeking to stop the state from enforcing a new law targeting technology that can alter photographs to make clothed people appear nude.

The lawsuit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Minnesota, four days before the provision was scheduled to take effect August 1.

The case is X.AI LLC v. Ellison, case number 26-cv-3425.

The law, passed as House File 1606, targets digital services that provide access to “nudification” technology. The term refers to artificial-intelligence tools that alter or generate images or videos to depict intimate body parts that were not shown in an original image of an identifiable person.

The legislation passed the Minnesota House 132-1 and the Senate 65-0.

It authorizes penalties of as much as $500,000 for each violation and gives victims a civil avenue to seek damages from companies providing the technology.

X.AI argues that the law imposes an overly broad, content-based restriction on speech and violates the First Amendment. The company is asking the court to declare the provision unconstitutional and permanently prohibit Minnesota from enforcing it.

The company does not dispute Minnesota’s interest in stopping the creation and distribution of nonconsensual, artificially generated nude images. It argues instead that the language extends beyond that goal and could impose liability for protected artistic, educational, satirical, medical, political or scientific expression.

X.AI also contends that the law could hold an artificial-intelligence provider strictly liable even when the company prohibits nonconsensual sexual imagery and uses safeguards intended to prevent it.

According to the complaint, X.AI prohibits users from generating nude or sexualized images of people without their consent. The company says the Minnesota law provides no sufficient protection for technology companies that make good-faith efforts to prevent misuse.

The lawsuit says enforcement would force X.AI to restrict image-editing features available through Grok Imagine, its generative-image system.

Ellison strongly defended the state law but said his office was waiting to receive and review the complaint before responding in court.

“Using AI to generate nude images of people against their will is appalling,” Ellison said. “AI nudification robs the target of their dignity and can cause immense harm on an emotional, personal, and professional level.”

Gov. Tim Walz responded more tersely in a social-media post directed at Musk: “See you in court, creep.”

Rep. Jess Hanson, DFL-Burnsville, the House author of the legislation, described AI nudification as one of the most urgent harms created by artificial intelligence.

The lawsuit presents the court with two competing concerns. Minnesota says companies that provide the technology must bear responsibility for preventing nonconsensual sexual exploitation. X.AI says the state has written the prohibition so broadly that it restricts lawful expression along with harmful conduct.

The court has not ruled on either argument. Filing a complaint represents one side’s allegations and legal position, not a judicial finding that Minnesota’s law is unconstitutional.

Sources: CBS Minnesota; MPR News; Minnesota Star Tribune; Bloomberg Law case summary