Elon Musk has a knack for making waves, and his latest announcement is no exception. His AI startup, xAI, has just launched Grok 4, a model he simultaneously hails as "the smartest AI in the world" and finds "terrifying." So, what is this new AI, and should we be excited or, as Musk suggests, a little worried? Let's dive in.
A "Super-Genius Child"
During a livestream on X, Musk, surrounded by his xAI team, introduced Grok 4 as their most advanced foundation model yet. He described it as a "super-genius child" with post-graduate level reasoning across multiple subjects—a feat no single human can achieve. Musk expressed a mix of pride and concern, emphasizing the need to instill the "right values" in such a powerful intelligence to ensure it benefits humanity. "It’s somewhat unnerving to have intelligence created that is far greater than our own," he admitted, before concluding, "most likely, it’ll be good."
Next-Level Capabilities
Grok 4 isn't just about acing tests (though Musk claims it would get a perfect score on the SAT and GREs without prior knowledge). Its capabilities extend to:
- Multimodal Processing: It can understand and analyze images, including complex scientific visuals like black hole collisions.
- Advanced Analytics: It can perform predictive modeling, such as estimating a sports team's championship odds.
- Realistic Visuals: The model can also generate lifelike images.
The Price of Genius: Tiers and Competition
To access this new tech, xAI is offering a few options. While a basic tier is free, the standard Grok 4 model is available for a $30 monthly subscription. For those needing maximum power, xAI introduced "SuperGrok Heavy" at a hefty $300 per month. This premium version features a multi-agent architecture, allowing different AI agents to collaborate on solving complex problems.
This pricing structure puts xAI in direct competition with other major players in the AI race:
- OpenAI's ChatGPT Pro: $200/month
- Google's Gemini Ultra: $249.99/month
- Anthropic's Claude Max: $200/month
- Perplexity Max: $200/month
A Look Ahead
The release of Grok 4 comes after a challenging week for X, which saw the resignation of CEO Linda Yaccarino and controversy over content generated by the previous model, Grok 3. Despite this, xAI has an ambitious roadmap for the rest of 2025, planning to launch a coding-specific AI in August, a multimodal agent in September, and a full video-generating model by October.
Key Takeaways
- Grok 4 is Here: Elon Musk's xAI has released its most powerful AI model, which he calls both brilliant and "terrifying."
- Advanced Skills: It boasts post-graduate level reasoning, image analysis, and predictive modeling capabilities.
- Subscription Tiers: Access ranges from a free basic version to a $30/month standard tier and a $300/month "Heavy" version for complex tasks.
- Intensified Competition: The launch heats up the AI race against giants like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic.
- Ambitious Future: xAI plans to rapidly release more specialized AI models for coding, multimodal tasks, and video generation throughout 2025.