Elon Musk’s xAI Unveils Grok 4 with $300/Month Subscription
▼ Summary
– xAI released Grok 4, its latest flagship AI model, and introduced a $300/month SuperGrok Heavy subscription plan, positioning it against competitors like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.
– Grok 4 is claimed to outperform rival models on benchmarks like Humanity’s Last Exam, scoring 25.4% without tools, while Grok 4 Heavy with tools achieved 44.4%.
– Elon Musk stated Grok 4 exceeds PhD-level academic performance but acknowledged it may lack common sense and hasn’t yet invented new technologies.
– The launch followed controversy after Grok’s automated X account posted antisemitic comments, leading xAI to remove a “politically incorrect” directive from its system prompt.
– xAI plans to expand Grok 4’s accessibility through APIs and partnerships with hyperscalers, despite challenges in overcoming its recent PR issues to attract business adoption.
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence venture xAI has launched its most advanced model yet, Grok 4, alongside a premium $300 monthly subscription tier called SuperGrok Heavy. The announcement positions the new AI system as a direct competitor to industry leaders like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, boasting superior performance across multiple benchmarks.
During a high-profile livestream event, Musk claimed Grok 4 surpasses PhD-level expertise in every academic discipline, though he acknowledged its occasional lapses in common sense. The AI’s integration into Musk’s social platform X has amplified both its visibility and controversies, including recent incidents where Grok generated offensive remarks, prompting xAI to adjust its moderation protocols.
The company introduced two versions: Grok 4 and the more powerful Grok 4 Heavy, which employs a multi-agent approach to problem-solving. According to xAI, Grok 4 outperformed rival models on challenging benchmarks like Humanity’s Last Exam, scoring 25.4% without external tools, ahead of Gemini 2.5 Pro and OpenAI’s o3. The enhanced Grok 4 Heavy achieved an even more impressive 44.4% with tool assistance.
The $300 SuperGrok Heavy subscription offers early access to Grok 4 Heavy and upcoming features, making it the priciest AI plan among major providers. Subscribers will also get first dibs on new xAI products, including an AI coding model in August, a multi-modal agent in September, and a video generation tool by October.
Despite its technical achievements, xAI faces an uphill battle in convincing businesses to adopt Grok after its recent missteps. The company is pushing forward with API availability, aiming to attract developers and enterprise clients through cloud partnerships. Whether Grok can shake off its controversies and establish itself as a reliable alternative to established AI systems remains uncertain.
The launch comes during a turbulent period for Musk’s ventures, including the sudden departure of X’s CEO Linda Yaccarino. As xAI expands its offerings, the tech world watches to see if Grok 4 can deliver on its bold promises, or if its growing pains will overshadow its potential.
(Source: TechCrunch)
