X, formerly Twitter and now owned by Elon Musk, briefly introduced a new image generator called Aurora to its Grok assistant over the weekend before it seemingly disappeared for some users. Like its predecessor, Flux, Aurora appears to have few restrictions. Accessible via the Grok tab on X’s mobile apps and web, the tool can generate images of public and copyrighted figures, such as Mickey Mouse, without apparent issues. While it avoids generating explicit nudity, it allowed graphic content like “a bloodied [Donald] Trump” during testing.
Aurora’s origins remain unclear. Announced by xAI, Musk’s AI startup, the posts didn’t clarify whether Aurora was developed in-house, built on an existing model, or created through a third-party collaboration, as was the case with Flux. However, at least one xAI team member mentioned fine-tuning Aurora.
Aurora excels in producing photorealistic images, particularly landscapes and still lifes, but it is not without flaws. Users reported issues like unnatural blending of objects and anatomical inaccuracies, such as people without fingers—a common challenge for image generators.
The release coincided with Grok becoming free for all X users, allowing free accounts to send up to 10 messages every two hours and generate three images per day. Previously, the chatbot was accessible only to Premium subscribers paying $8 per month.
Meanwhile, xAI has closed a $6 billion funding round, is reportedly developing a standalone Grok app, and may soon unveil its next-generation model, Grok 3.