Giant inflatable Elon Musk appears in Times Square one day before SpaceX IPO, with a scathing message for its CEO

A giant inflatable bust of a shirtless Elon Musk appeared in Times Square on Thursday, one day before SpaceX's highly anticipated IPO, bearing tattoos that accuse the company's Grok AI of generating child sexual abuse imagery. The group Safe AI Now claimed responsibility, warning investors that Musk "built a dangerous and exploitative AI" and is now selling the liability to the public through the IPO. The protest comes after SpaceX's S-1 filing acknowledged that Grok's NSFW mode could pose "heightened risks" and "reputational harm" from generating nonconsensual or exploitative imagery.

New Yorkers woke up Thursday morning to a giant blow-up figure of the world's richest person, one day before his already immense fortune is set to inflate thanks to the biggest IPO in history. The big bust of a shirtless and smiling Elon Musk appeared in Times Square overnight, adorned with harsh accusations about the SpaceX founder. "SpaceX's Grok makes AI child porn," reads a giant tattoo plastered across the bust's upper abs and back. The message appeared to be a reference to accusations that Grok, Musk's xAI chatbot https://www.businessinsider.com/xai-limits-grok-ai-image-tool-sexualized-deepfake-backlash-2026-1 that was acquired by SpaceX earlier this year, produced sexual images of children. In response to complaints, Musk said https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-grok-bikini-response-sexualized-images-minors-remove-clothes-2026-1 in January that "anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content." The official X page also said its policy has "zero tolerance for any forms of child sexual exploitation." Grok's not-safe-for-work https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-grok-ai-risk-factor-spicy-mode-nsfw-2026-5 capabilities came up in SpaceX's S-1 filing last month, ahead of the rocket company's highly anticipated IPO, set for June 12. SpaceX warned potential investors that Grok's NSFW mode could pose "heightened risks" and "reputational harm," in part because it could generate "nonconsensual or exploitative imagery." The group behind the inflatable Musk is Safe AI Now SAIN , which describes itself as a coalition of faith leaders, child-safety organizations, and other groups and individuals. SAIN told Business Insider the inflatable would be up until 7 p.m. ET on Thursday. "The goal of this effigy of Musk is to deliver a simple warning to investors: Musk built a dangerous and exploitative AI, covered up the damage, merged it with SpaceX, and is now selling the liability to the public at $135 a share," SAIN said in a statement, adding, "SpaceX shareholders are on the hook for every Grok lawsuit, criminal investigation, and regulatory fine that is coming." "While this inflatable is a fitting metaphor — much like Musk and his companies, it is inflated, full of hot air, and could pop at any minute — it serves as a warning to investors eager to buy into Musk's SpaceX IPO on Friday morning," the statement continued. SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. The inflatable Musk also has a tattoo on its bicep featuring a heart and the word "ketamine." Musk said in 2024 he takes a small amount of ketamine https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-don-lemon-small-amount-ketamine-every-other-week-2024-3 "every other week" to help with mental states "like depression." The inflatable wasn't the first time a massive Musk protest-bust appeared. Following cuts to the National Park Service https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-elon-musk-bust-arches-national-park-utah-doge-cuts-2025-7 led by DOGE, the White House office spearheaded by Musk, a large sculpture of the Tesla CEO was spotted on a trailer towed by a pickup truck in several national parks in the summer of 2025 as part of an anonymous protest. SpaceX's IPO https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-ipo-spcx-stock-price-stocks-investing-elon-musk-nasdaq-2026-6 this week is expected to be the largest ever. The company is expected to raise $75 billion, bringing its valuation to $1.75 trillion.