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Loreben Tuquero
By Loreben Tuquero June 1, 2023

These photos of Elon Musk kissing a ‘robot wife’ aren’t real. They’re AI-generated

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  • The images of Twitter owner Elon Musk kissing robots were generated by artificial intelligence. There is no evidence that he is making a "robot wife."

See the sources for this fact-check

Is billionaire Elon Musk poised to make a "robot wife"? Social media users claim such a project is underway and will be rolled out in the next few months.

"According to report, Elon Musk and his company are in the final stages of making a Robot Wife," read a May 17 Instagram post’s caption.  "The supply of Robot Wives is expected to roll out in September 2023. They will reach Africa by November 2023."

The post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

(Screenshot from Instagram)
 
We found no credible reports or statements to suggest this is a real undertaking by Musk. The images were posted May 3 by Instagram user @art_is_2_inspire, who signaled in hashtags that it was "AI art." Agence France-Presse and Full Fact also debunked this post.
 
Some media outlets credited Twitter user Daniel Marven for posting the photos, but Agence France-Presse and Fast Company reported that they were created by the digital creator who owns the @art_is_2_inspire Instagram account. That account also previously made the viral AI-generated images of Pope Francis wearing a Balenciaga coat.

PolitiFact reached out to the @art_is_2_inspire account, its owner, who identified as Pablo Xavier sent screenshots of prompts used to create the images.

Musk’s company Tesla is working on humanoid robots called Tesla Bot or Optimus, but those are not "robot wives." In a shareholder meeting May 16, Musk presented a video showing that the robots can walk and pick up items. The robots were first unveiled in 2022.
 
The photos of Musk kissing robots are not real, and there is no proof that he is "making a robot wife." We rate this claim False.
 
UPDATE, June 1, 2023: This fact-check has been updated to include information provided by the owner of the @art_is_2_inspire Instagram account.

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Our Sources

Instagram post, May 17, 2023

Instagram post, May 3, 2023

Agence France-Presse, Computer-generated image does not show Elon Musk with ‘robot wife,’ May 26, 2023

Full Fact, Pictures of Elon Musk's ‘robot wives’ are AI-generated, May 23, 2023

Fast Company, The guy behind ‘Balenciaga Pope’ wants people to stop stealing his AI-generated images, May 25, 2023

Washington Post, Elon Musk debuts Tesla robot, Optimus, calling it a ‘fundamental transformation’, Oct. 1, 2022

The Verge, Tesla Bot can walk very slowly and pick up stuff now, May 16, 2023

Tesla YouTube video, Tesla Bot Update, May 16, 2023

Poynter, What the pope’s Balenciaga puffer jacket says about AI and misinformation, March 28, 2023

Instagram direct message exchange with Pablo Xavier, owner of @art_is_2_inspire account, June 1, 2023

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These photos of Elon Musk kissing a ‘robot wife’ aren’t real. They’re AI-generated

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