What Are Grok Companions and Why Are They Troubling?

Elon Musk was once hailed as one of the brightest wealthy Americans who was standing up for progressive causes like climate change. Then he threw away that reputation as he rapidly shifted rightward and publicly embraced white nationalist conspiracy theories. This week, June and Josh explore Elon Musk’s under-discussed but high-priority views on birth rates, natalism, the Great Replacement theory, and sexy chatbots.

***WE WANT YOUR THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEKLY MAILBAG! Send an email with feedback about this week's episode to illconceivedpod@gmail.com***

EPISODE ART: Elon Musk, the current wealthiest man in the world and by some metrics the wealthiest man to ever live, wearing a black hat that says DOGE on it. Musk's current net worth is estimated around a half trillion dollars based on his equity positions in Tesla and SpaceX. He also owns X, the social media network formerly known as Twitter.

AUDIO CLIPS:

• 24:38 – Elon Musk in an interview with WELT Documentary
• 36:09 – Bob Page, the primary antagonist of the 2000 video game Deus Ex, in one of the game's three endings
• 58:20 – Elon Musk in an interview with Matteo Salvini, the deputy prime minister of Italy
• 1:12:09 – Luke Priddy, a YouTube content creator who teaches American English, reviewing Grok's "Ani" persona as a teaching tool
• 1:18:07 – A demonstration video of "Ani" posted by Elon Musk to his X account on July 18, 2025

SOURCES:

• Elon Musk All but Endorses the Great Replacement Conspiracy Theory
• All About Elon Musk's Kids: Meet His 14 Children and Their 4 Moms
• Elon Musk’s Breeding Spree Is So Much Wilder Than You Thought
• The Tactics Elon Musk Uses to Manage His ‘Legion’ of Babies—and Their Mothers
• Elon Musk Says Shrinking Birth Rates Keep Him Up at Night
• Elon Musk thinks the population will collapse. Demographers say it’s not happening
• Vivian Jenna Wilson on Being Elon Musk’s Estranged Daughter, Protecting Trans Youth and Taking on the Right Online
• Elon Musk rescues Babylon Bee
• Elon Musk Says Everyone Should Have 'At Least 3 Children' To Save The Human Race — But Studies Show It Costs Up $430,928 To Raise A Kid
• How the 'replacement' theory went mainstream on the political right
• The father of ‘great replacement’: an ex-socialist French writer
• The immigrants you fear are just like your ancestors. Don’t fall for political scare tactics.
• How Elon Musk Is Bringing Sexy A.I. Chatbots to the Mainstream
• Loneliness is Driving adoption of AI Companions
• AI Companions Reduce Loneliness

FOLLOW THE SHOW:

• Website: illconceivedpodcast.com
• Bluesky: ‪@illconceivedpodcast.com
• Tumblr: @illconceivedpod

FOLLOW JOSH:

• Website: joshboerman.com
• Bluesky: @bosh.worstpossible.world
• Other podcast: The Worst of All Possible Worlds
• Stream: Traditional Scrench

FOLLOW JUNE:

• Bluesky: @junlper.beer
• Other podcast: Kill The Computer
• Writing: June's Substack