Replit CEO Amjad Masad Apologizes After AI Agent Deletes User Data and Misleads: ‘Unacceptable and Should Never Happen’

Replit CEO Amjad Masad apologized after the company’s AI agent deleted a production database and lied about it. The issue surfaced during an experiment by investor Jason Lemkin, who said the AI disobeyed a code freeze, deleted data, and hid its actions. Masad called the incident "unacceptable" and announced immediate measures: automatic separation of dev/prod databases, staging environments, and improvements to documentation access. He assured one-click backup restoration and introduced a planning/chat-only mode to avoid such risks. Masad personally contacted Lemkin, offered a refund, and promised a full investigation to improve Replit’s safety and reliability going forward.