Over the weekend, visitors at Arches National Park near Moab, Utah, spotted a massive bust of Elon Musk being carted around by a pickup. A sign attached to the figure read “MAKE AMERICA WAIT AGAIN” and “Now With Longer Lines Thanks to DOGE Cuts!”

Days after introducing an AI ‘waifu’ companion for Grok, Elon Musk is now officially teasing a male version for the ladies. So far we can tell it is broody and dark-haired, and according to Musk, “his personality is inspired by Edward Cullen from Twilight and Christian Grey from 50 Shades .”

One of the new “companions,” or AI characters for users to interact with, is a sexualized blonde anime bot called “Ani."

Kyle Chayka Staff writer covering technology and internet culture.

Earlier this week, xAI added what can only be described as an AI anime girlfriend named Ani to its Grok chatbot. Which is how I ended up on a virtual starry beach as an AI waifu avatar tried to give me a “spicy” kiss.

A $440 million data center with an odd name is going up in Bastrop County, the suburban Austin hub of several of Elon Musk’s companies.

Ani, an anime avatar wearing a tight black dress, was launched the same day the tech billionaire was awarded a $200 million Department of Defense contract.

Elon Musk has just unveiled “Companions,” a new feature for his AI chatbot, Grok, that allows users to interact with AI personas. These include Ani, a gothic anime girl who communicates with emojis, flirtatious messages, and facts, as well as Rudy, a friendly red panda.

Elon Musk is integrating AI across his companies and blurring the lines between them.

AI safety researchers from OpenAI, Anthropic, and nonprofit organizations are speaking out publicly against the “reckless” and “completely irresponsible” safety culture at xAI, the billion-dollar AI startup owned by Elon Musk. The criticisms follow weeks of scandals at xAI that have overshadowed the company’s technological advances.