Fan debate over male Grok companion’s name takes a wild turn

Elon Musk said the chatbot’s male version is inspired by Edward Cullen from Twilight and Christian Grey from Fifty Shades of Grey.

SuperGrok and SuperGrok Heavy subscribers can enable companions in Settings. The feature includes three-dimensional, animated characters that users can interact with via voice commands. The two available companions are Rudy, an ambiguous, panda-like creature, and Ani, a hypersexualized anime wife

Musk has also teased a male Grok companion, asking his followers on X what he should be named.

His personality is inspired by Edward Cullen from Twilight and Christian Grey from 50 Shades https://t.co/w5ZvBzDcKa

undefined Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 16, 2025

The male companion is inspired by hypersexualized fictional characters. Edward Cullen from Twilight is a telepathic vampire, while Christian Grey’s persona originates from a series of erotic novels.

“Edward Cullen stalked high school girls across centuries. Christian Grey groomed a 21-year-old into a contract of submission. Now Grok’s “male companion” channels both… powered by real-time X data and user behavior tracking?,” a commentator account on X named Lucien Wolfe, aptly pointed out.

While netizens were eager to join the discussion on the possible name of the companion, many expressed frustration with its appearance.

“Can we get a normal male and female, too? For a lot of us, it would be more comfortable to use characters not designed to be sexual companions. How about a pretty middle-aged American woman and an average-built middle-aged American male, not white?” one user replied.

As might be expected, the discussion quickly derailed, with netizens expressing divided opinions on what is considered sexy.

“Girls don't like to goon to anime figures gross that is a MALE fetish,” one user said.

Others, naturally, didn’t take it seriously (or did they), and pitched their own creative ideas for the next Grok companion.

Can we please get an Alligator on a quad bike for the next Grok Companion? pic.twitter.com/dc0pHEt2rj

undefined J.P. Picard (@Jack_P_P_Hoff) July 16, 2025

Ani, the female Grok companion, is designed as an overly sexualized anime wife who can reportedly delve into users’ sexual fantasies. Rudi, a cartoon panda, can turn into a homicidal maniac when prompted. But it wouldn’t be fair to single out Grok, as other AI companions also have negative effects on people and can go rogue.

A recent study from the University of Singapore found that various AI applications are capable of harmful behaviors, such as verbal abuse, self-harm, and privacy violations.

"These interactions are not merely fictional or harmless," the study notes, "but often mirror toxic dynamics found in human relationships."

Last year, one mother filed a lawsuit blaming Character.AI for the death of her 14-year-old boy.

An Orlando boy took his own life after months of conversing with chatbots, developing a powerful emotional bond with one named Danny.

He was in constant contact with the bot, which contributed to social withdrawal, worsening academic performance, loss of interest in hobbies, and other behavioral changes. Despite understanding that the AI was not real, the boy confided suicidal thoughts to his chatbot companion.

No wonder states like California are advancing bills to protect users from chatbot companions.

Given that AI algorithms are built by humans and trained on flawed, biased datasets, they must be closely monitored, as they can have effects on people comparable to those of racism, bullying, white supremacy, and other societal harms.

A new study co-authored by Ivan Yamshchikov, a professor of AI and robotics at the Technical University of Würzburg-Schweinfurt (THWS) in Germany, showed that AI chatbots may reinforce real-world discrimination. In particular, they consistently tell women to ask for lower salaries than men.