“Grok is coming to Tesla automobiles very quickly. Subsequent week on the newest,” Elon Musk said Thursday in a post on X. The EV model would meet up with the likes of Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen, which have already integrated ChatGPT into their automobiles as voice assistants.
The announcement follows a livestream late Wednesday that Musk held with xAI colleagues the place the billionaire unveiled Grok 4, the newest AI mannequin from xAI, his multibillion-dollar initiative to rival OpenAI and Google.
The timing for each bulletins is unlucky for an embattled Musk. Over the previous few days, a model of Grok constructed into Musk’s X social media platform praised Adolf Hitler and provided antisemitic responses to a number of prompts from X customers. On Wednesday, X CEO Linda Yaccarino mentioned she was leaving the company with out elaborating on her reasoning or plans.
It stays to be seen whether or not Musk could make good on his promise of getting Grok-powered Telsas roaming the streets so quickly after his declaration, particularly as he has had a lot hassle delivering on past assurances.
Mercedes-Benz was one of many earliest adopters of LLMs in its vehicles, integrating ChatGPT into the voice management of its automobiles final yr via the MBUX Voice Assistant’s “Hey Mercedes” characteristic. Then it deployed a “normal data” perform utilizing OpenAI’s large-language mannequin to hundreds of thousands of automobiles.
In January, Mercedes introduced a brand new AI characteristic that noticed the German automaker launch a “conversational navigation” characteristic powered by Google Automotive AI Agent operating its Gemini chatbot. The improve permits far more conversational queries, shifting from “Discover me the closest curry home” to questions corresponding to “Hey Mercedes, I am just a little hungry. Any ideas for dinner in Austin?”
It is unknown how conversational Grok might be in Musk’s Teslas. Thankfully, in response to the chatbot’s antisemitic tirade, xAI mentioned on Tuesday that it will be implementing initiatives that may “ban hate speech earlier than Grok posts on X.” This may hopefully imply Tesla house owners will not be subjected to Nazi doctrine from their trustworthy electrical journey when asking if there is a first rate brisket accessible close by.
It is also unclear if Tesla house owners should pay for Grok entry of their EVs, or how a lot it may cost. Whereas the model of the chatbot on X is free, customers should pay entry $30 a month for Grok 4 via the Grok web site or app. And entry to a extra succesful model generally known as Grok 4 Heavy will price significantly extra, $300 per thirty days.
After all, ought to Tesla house owners not want to use Musk’s Grok of their Teslas they may produce other in-car choices, because of the model’s internet browser. This enables entry to Grok rivals corresponding to Anthropic’s Claude in addition to doubtlessly Open AI’s own browser, which may be out within the wild inside weeks.
