Elon Musk’s xAI rolls out Grok 4 with major upgrades

The xAI artificial intelligence startup founded by Elon Musk has released a new chatbot model, Grok 4, a few months after Grok 3. The update has enhanced multimodal performance and a voice interface, which the company says outperforms top academic benchmarks in several fields.

During a livestreamed demonstration late Wednesday, Musk referred to Grok 4 as “smarter than almost all graduate students” and said it is capable of reasoning in first principles.

Releasing @Grok 4 from @xAI https://t.co/SYJbxJySSR

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 10, 2025

Grok 4 will be a competitor of the GPT-5 developed by OpenAI. It also adds new functionality, like real-time integrations with prediction platforms like Polymarket, where it can analyze social data to predict the likely results of an event, like sports event outcomes. In another demonstration, Grok performed the task of evaluating the quality of video games, which Musk claims enables the model to tell whether a game is fun, according to design metrics.

The company highlighted the memory, logic, and creativity boost that was achieved with Grok 4. Although Musk acknowledged that the bot has not yet generated new technologies, new scientific laws, he said that these stories are “just a matter of time.”

xAI’s long-term goal for Grok extends beyond chat and entertainment. The company is developing a system that can reason from first principles and provide output in text, image, and speaking voices. The voice interface in Grok 4 suggests a more profound engagement with human interaction.

In contrast to earlier versions, Grok 4 has been positioned as a tool rather than a machine to solve questions simply, but to take complex problem-solving, prediction modeling, and even creativity to new levels. Musk said that the model has not yet found new physics or technologies, but is sure such achievements are possible.

“It’s somewhat unnerving to have created intelligence that’s greater than our own,” Musk said during the event. “But I’d at least like to be alive to see it happen.”

Content moderation issues resurface

The rollout follows the revived scrutiny of xAI under consideration of Grok’s output. Just 24 hours before the Grok 4 reveal, xAI deleted antisemitic posts produced by X through Grok. The messages contained abusive responses and customized curses, which led to users and political personalities.

Minister of Transport Abdulkadir Uraloglu of Turkey recently threatened to shut down access to X in Turkey if offensive content continues. He lamented the language used by Grok, and action needed to be taken immediately. xAI, in turn, said there are now more barricades during pre-publications to stop violations in the future.

Musk discussed the safety of AI at the launch but made no comments regarding the recent moderation case. He stated that “we need to make sure the AI is a good AI,” emphasizing the importance of aligning artificial intelligence with human values.

xAI faces financial pressures and executive turnover

The launch of Grok 4 is associated with significant internal transitions at xAI and X. Hours earlier, the CEO of X, Linda Yaccarino, resigned, leaving X in a lurch with no visible executive at the helm. X and xAI merged in March, integrating engineering expertise and coordinating product distribution through the social network.

The startup is experiencing increasing financial needs, too. Despite the recent reports, xAI is running up approximately $1 billion per month in competition with the leaders of the AI field, Google, OpenAI, and Meta. Musk is also seeking capital to aid expansion and additional research.