What Is Grok? Everything to Know About Elon Musk's AI Tool
Initially, Grok was available exclusively to paying X Premium Plus subscribers. By December of 2024, xAI rolled out a limited free tier, allowing you to make 10 queries per day. Now, it is also available via web browser, as standalone mobile iOS, Android and desktop apps, meaning you can access Grok without an X subscription. It should also soon be available to Telegram users, per Telegram CEO Pavel Durov's announcement on X.
On July 10, SuperGrok entered the scene. xAI introduced Grok 4 and Grok 4 Heavy in a livestream that felt more like a late-night show-and-tell than a typical Silicon Valley polished product launch -- and it came packed with some bold claims.
So let's dive deeper into Grok's advantages, controversies and what sets it apart from other generative AI tools.
The background story
Grok was developed by xAI, an AI startup founded by Musk in July 2023. The company's stated mission is "to understand the universe," and it maintains close ties with Musk's other ventures like X, Tesla and Neuralink.
Unlike ChatGPT, which started with static training data and later added web browsing, Grok was built to be live from the start. It was inspired by The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, promising users a chatbot that answers with wit, humor and attitude.
On its website, xAI emphasizes that Grok aims to provide accurate information, though its edgy, less-moderated approach with a "rebellious streak" sometimes blurs the line between useful and controversial.
This unfiltered "free speech" style has led to backlash, with Grok being known to occasionally generate biased or offensive content -- like last week's "MechaHitler" controversy (more on that below). And, like all the other AI chatbots, it warns you that it can sometimes hallucinate.
Its defining feature is real-time integration with X, which means it can pull from trending posts, user conversations and breaking news faster than other bots. The company says it may use your X data and interactions with Grok for model training, fine-tuning and to personalize your Grok experience. But you can opt out using your X settings.
What can Grok do?
Like most AI chatbots, Grok can answer questions, summarize articles, write emails, explain complex topics and help with coding.
If you're on X and see a post you want more info about, you can ask Grok directly in the comments. You can also DM it like you'd message a friend. It pulls in real-time context from X and web sources (though it doesn't always cite them clearly), frequently adopting a casual, humorous or sarcastic tone reminiscent of Musk's posts.
Meta AI is integrated across its socials similarly, but Grok excels at this. None of the other major chatbots offer that kind of native integration with a social media network.
You can also ask it to generate images using a built-in AI image tool. Perplexity and ChatGPT rely on OpenAI's models for that part, but since Grok 3, the company uses its own model, Aurora. Previous Grok models used Black Forest Labs' Flux model until December 2024.
Grok also supports math explanations, brainstorming ideas and text translation. For developers, there's Grok 4 Code, a specialized model designed to write, debug and explain code more efficiently, similar to tools like GitHub Copilot or GPT-4 Code Interpreter.
"You can cut & paste your entire source code file into the query entry box on http://grok.com and Grok 4 will fix it for you!" Musk tweeted earlier in July.
Another capability with Grok 4 is enhanced cultural fluency. A recent update makes Grok adept at interpreting memes, internet slang and humor, potentially making it the most "online" AI assistant yet.
Grok 4 and Grok 4 Heavy models and pricing
During the livestream, Musk claimed Grok 4's capabilities exceed those of humans in academia.
"Grok 4 is postgrad-level in everything," Musk said. "At least with respect to academic questions, Grok 4 is better than a PhD level in every subject. No exceptions."
John Licato, assistant professor of computer science and engineering at the University of South Florida, says these claims are absolutely misleading.
"'PhD-level' is being thrown around as a marketing term with no real rigorous benchmarks behind it. It also completely misunderstands what PhDs actually do," Licato told CNET.
xAI didn't immediately respond to a request for clarification or comment.
Grok offers three tiers. The Basic plan is free and includes limited access to Grok 3, basic features like projects and tasks and limited tokens (building blocks of text that AI models use to process language).
The SuperGrok plan costs $30 per month and unlocks increased access to both Grok 3 and Grok 4. It includes 128,000 tokens, context memory and additional features like voice with vision. For example, if you show Grok a photo or point a camera at something and ask about it out loud, it will analyze the image and generate a response.
Then there's SuperGrok Heavy, priced at $300 per month, with access to Grok 4 Heavy (currently in exclusive preview), early access to new features and dedicated support. Grok 4 Heavy simultaneously deploys multiple AI agents -- which process tasks independently, work in parallel and cross-evaluate their outputs -- to collaborate on a query, comparing results to deliver the most accurate response.
If you're on X, you can freely access Grok 3 or model 4 if you have an X Premium Plus subscription for $40 per month.
Where Grok does and doesn't excel
Because of all the claims Musk and his team made about Supergrok and its purported advanced scientist-grade reasoning, I decided to do some testing. I asked ChatGPT's o3 advanced reasoning model and Grok 4 the same "Koch snowflake" question (image below).
Both chatbots reached the same mathematical results, but Grok 4 provided a more detailed, step-by-step explanation more suitable for learning, while ChatGPT offered a more concise, streamlined version, better for quick reference. ChatGPT was also 5 seconds faster.
ChatGPT 3o on the left, Grok 4 on the right.
ChatGPT / Grok / Screenshot by CNET
Then I tested the image generation capabilities. ChatGPT gave a more realistic image, while Grok's resembled those typical Midjourney images that are more uncanny and kind of glossy. However, Grok produced two images and additional prompts on the bottom so I could enrich or change the image -- like watercolor style, and rainy alley -- and it generated the images in 21 seconds, while it took over a minute and a half for ChatGPT to make one image.
ChatGPT's puppy on the left, and Grok's on the right.
ChatGPT / Grok / Screenshot by CNET
Tone is another differentiator. While ChatGPT, Perplexity and Claude tend to be neutral or overly polite, Grok is intentionally informal. Sometimes it's helpful, sometimes it's snarky, and sometimes it just goes too far.
xAI pitches this as an advantage: a bot that isn't afraid to "tell you the truth," even if it's controversial. However, that approach got Grok in hot water just over a week ago with a series of now-deleted antisemitic posts on X, after which Grok was temporarily shut down.
"We are aware of recent posts made by Grok and are actively working to remove the inappropriate posts. Since being made aware of the content, xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X. xAI is training only truth-seeking and thanks to the millions of users on X, we are able to quickly identify and update the model where training could be improved," Grok tweeted on July 8.
Grok's real-time access to X is both a strength and a risk, since the platform is known for hosting unmoderated or misleading content. Because of its reliance on X, Grok may amplify misinformation or reflect the platform's user biases more than models trained on broader data.
When I asked Licato if he found that concerning, he agreed and added that he's not convinced Grok or the leadership behind it is doing anything to ensure responsible use of its technology.
"Grok is marketed as more of a truth-teller than its competitors, and this is leading to a lot of people believing that it is somehow more reliable," Licato told CNET. "But I do not see any good evidence that this is actually true, and I worry that, since so much of the public does not know how easy it is to get LLMs to spout false information, they may just be aiding in the spreading of mis- and disinformation."
Michael Berthold, CEO and co-founder of AI analytics company KNIME, told me he's concerned about the broader implications of AI chatbots rewriting or summarizing knowledge.
"The worry I have, and I see it with my own kids, is how the next generation will be learning things," Berthold told CNET. "There will be so much content that's not going to be consumed in the original anymore, but in some sort of AI-rewritten, summarized form. Something can be lost, either accidentally or intentionally. We already see AI systems from different countries reflecting slightly different preferences."
Grok's tone has also raised eyebrows. Some responses are laced with sarcasm or off-color jokes, which might appeal to Musk's fans but could turn off people expecting a neutral assistant.
What's next for Grok?
Grok has been somewhat of an overlooked AI chatbot, since it's confined to X. But as xAI continues to develop it, and Musk has also hinted that Grok is coming to Tesla vehicles as early as next week, at this point, its future looks ambitious. It's safe to assume Grok's integration into future versions of Optimus, Tesla's humanoid robot, as well.
Grok is carving out a unique space in the AI arms race, especially with its provocative digital personality. With rapid advancements in the AI sphere, skepticism over this technology is rising, too.
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