The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit granted xAI an injunction pending appeal on October 2. Minnesota cannot enforce its ban on tools that “nudify” photos of real people against the company while the case goes on. A lower court had refused the same request in September.
New to this? Read it in simple words
- Minnesota bans AI tools that make fake nude images of real people.
- Elon Musk’s AI company xAI says the ban breaks free speech rights.
- An appeals court paused the ban for xAI while the case goes on.
- The court gave no reasons and has not decided who is right.
- Injunction
- A court order that stops someone from doing something, here enforcing a law.
- Nudify
- Using AI to turn a normal photo of a person into a fake nude image.
- First Amendment
- The part of the US Constitution that protects free speech.
What the court did
The order, entered on October 2, reads in full: “Appellant’s motion for injunction pending appeal is granted.” It is on the court’s public docket, case 26-2806.
It stops Minnesota from enforcing the law against xAI while the appeal goes on. It gives no reasons and does not decide whether the law is constitutional.
In September the court renamed the case SpaceXAI LLC v. Keith Ellison, at the company’s request. Reuters describes the company as Musk’s xAI.
From the Eighth Circuit docket on CourtListener and Reuters’ reporting.
The law and the fight over it
The law took effect on August 1. It bars websites, apps and software makers from letting users create realistic images that show intimate body parts not visible in an original photo of an identifiable person.
xAI sued in July, arguing that the law limits speech protected by the First Amendment. Free speech groups, including FIRE, filed briefs on its side.
On September 4, US District Judge Donovan Frank refused to block the law. He found that xAI had not shown irreparable harm and had waited too long to ask for emergency relief, Reuters and MPR News report.
What each side says
xAI told the court that its Grok Imagine tool has “rigorous protections” against such images, and that it has sued users who get around them, Reuters reports. These are the company’s claims.
“Minnesota’s nudification ban outlaws AI technology products from generating sexual images that harm and harass people,” Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office said, according to Reuters. The state says it will keep defending the law.
The state says it passed the law because AI tools were producing child sexual abuse material. The appeal itself has not yet been argued.
Sources
Every fact in this story comes from the sources below. Open them to check our work.
- 1Primary source · October 2, 2026SpaceXAI LLC v. Keith Ellison, No. 26-2806: docket and order of October 2, 2026 US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (via CourtListener)
- 2Research · October 2, 2026US appeals court blocks Minnesota law barring ‘nudified’ photos in xAI lawsuit Reuters, via The Business Standard
- 3Research · September 4, 2026Judge lets Minnesota enforce anti-nudification app law over xAI objection as case proceeds MPR News
- 4
We read the appeals court docket on CourtListener, including the October 2 order and the earlier filings. The state’s and the company’s statements come from Reuters. Benzinga and Law360 also covered the order; Benzinga relays Reuters and says it uses AI tools, and Law360 is paywalled, so we do not count them. FIRE supports xAI in the case; we use its page only for the law’s history.