Elon Musk has confirmed that the Grok AI chatbot will be available to premium users of X, amidst a dispute with OpenAI, which he recently sued for deviating from its original mission, and has open-sourced Grok AI under the Apache 2.0 license.
Introduction
Elon Musk, billionaire and owner of xAI, announced on Tuesday that his company’s AI chatbot, Grok, will be available to all X premium users later this week. This decision comes as Musk’s rivalry with his former company, OpenAI, escalates. Musk recently filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, alleging that they have deviated from the startup’s original mission of developing AI for the betterment of humanity.
Recently, Elon Musk has been critical of OpenAI and its ChatGPT, even dubbing the San Francisco-based startup “closed AI” after the lawsuit. Musk’s xAI has also followed suit, joining Meta and Mistral in open sourcing Grok AI under the Apache 2.0 license.
What is Grok and how to use it?
Elon Musk launched Grok AI in November last year as an alternative to popular chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini (formerly Bard). The chatbot, inspired by The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, was designed to answer questions with humor and a “rebellious streak.” Initially available through an X Premium+ subscription costing ₹1,300 per month or ₹13,600 per year, Grok AI can now be accessed by users with an X Premium subscription priced at ₹650 per month or ₹6,800 per year. However, Musk has not confirmed if or when all X users will have access to Grok AI, similar to ChatGPT version 3.5.
TechCrunch reported that Musk’s decision to offer Grok to all premium subscribers may be aimed at boosting X’s subscriber base amid declining usage. According to Sensor Tower data, X usage in the US was down 18% year-on-year in February and has fallen 23% since Musk acquired the company. Additionally, Musk’s issues with advertisers have led to 75 of the top 100 US advertisers on X no longer spending any ad budget on the platform.
Summary
It might be surprising to some, especially considering the ongoing dispute between Elon Musk and OpenAI. However, Musk’s decision to make Grok AI more widely available could also be seen as a strategic move to strengthen X’s position in the market.
Grok AI, designed to answer questions with humor, was previously available only to higher end subscribers. Musk’s move is seen as an effort to increase X’s user base amid declining usage.
