Musk Mistakes Real Photos For AI Grok Promotion
Musk's Grok Promotion Misfires With Real Art
Elon Musk recently shared a post featuring specialized images from a photographer, presenting them as if they were generated by AI to promote X's AI image generator, Grok.
This image was shared by Elon Musk, inset. It is Charles Brooks’ photo of the inside of a double bass but has been edited with AI so that people are standing inside it.
To compound the issue, photographer Charles Brooks reported that his X account was subsequently restricted after he engaged with comments under Elon Musk’s post to clarify the situation.
Photographer Charles Brooks Clarifies Origins
Brooks is known for his unique photographs capturing the interiors of musical instruments; he is notably the only photographer to have ever imaged the inside of an intact violin. These distinctive photos were posted by Eric Jiang after being edited to include people within the instrument scenes. Musk then shared Jiang's post, captioning it "Generate images with Grok," which suggested that X's AI tool had created these images.
Generate images with @Grok https://t.co/5Ibx8eArx0
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 1, 2025
"I find it a little bit frustrating because, as hopefully most of you know, all of these instrument photos that I take are of real instruments," Brooks stated on Instagram. "They’re not AI generated at all."
Brooks suspects that Jiang took his original photographs and used an AI tool, possibly Grok, to composite people into them. "That’s what Elon then went and shared," Brooks noted.
The Debate On Image Credit And AI Modification
Neither Musk nor Jiang initially credited Brooks for his original work when sharing the images. Jiang later added a credit in a subsequent comment, a gesture Brooks described as "disingenuous."
"I’m not against people sharing my images," Brooks clarified on social media. "I love that you guys enjoy these images and want to share them with your friends."
Brooks’ original photo of the double bass. | Charles Brooks
Brooks mentioned he doesn't mind his images being edited, but believes providing visible credit is essential. "Put my name in there, drop a link to my website, it’s really simple," he added.
Musk disseminated Brooks' images to his 220 million followers on X, the platform he owns, without any credit to the photographer and, instead, with the Grok watermark prominently displayed.
X Account Restricted After Photographer Speaks Up
To make matters worse, Brooks reported on X that his account faced restrictions after he responded to comments incorrectly asserting his images were AI generated. This occurred after he attempted to correct misleading narratives stemming from Musk's post.
AI Image Generation Capabilities And Limitations
Brooks stated he has no fundamental issue with AI itself. However, he correctly pointed out that AI image generators are limited to producing images based on the data they were trained on. This limitation became apparent when users asked Grok to generate an image of an instrument's interior and received disappointing results, as shown in the following user post.
I want my money back. pic.twitter.com/ilzUSfJN7I
— Satan (@CEOatHell) June 1, 2025
According to Brooks, AI struggles to generate images of the inside of musical instruments because such photographs are rare in training datasets. "It will never be able to generate an image of a specific instrument," he explained. "For that, you’re always going to need a photographer.
Why Original Photography Still Matters
So, I still think there’s a place for us," Brooks concluded, emphasizing the continued relevance of photographers for unique and specialized imagery.
PetaPixel recently featured Brooks’ work after he captured the inside of a particle accelerator. More of Brooks’ unique photography can be found on his website and Instagram. His unique photos of the inside of musical instruments further showcase his distinct vision.
