Introduction
In the fast-moving world of Artificial Intelligence (AI), there is always something new and exciting happening. On July 9, 2025, Elon Musk, the famous tech billionaire behind Tesla, SpaceX, and X (formerly Twitter), announced the launch of Grok 4, the newest version of his AI chatbot under his company xAI.
Musk made a bold claim: Grok 4 is the smartest AI in the world.
But what exactly is Grok 4? What makes it special? And should you care?
In this blog post, we will explain everything about Grok 4 in simple language. We will also compare it with other popular AI models like ChatGPT and Gemini, look at its features, pricing, and why it is making headlines.
Let’s get started!
Table of Contents
- What is Grok 4?
- Who is Behind Grok 4?
- What Makes Grok 4 So Special?
- Grok 4 vs Other AIs: ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude
- Pricing: How Much Does Grok 4 Cost?
- Roadmap: What’s Coming Next from xAI?
- Controversies Around Grok 4
- Why Elon Musk Built Grok
- How to Use Grok 4
- What Can You Do with Grok 4?
- Final Thoughts: Is Grok 4 Really the Smartest AI?
What is Grok 4?
Grok 4 is the latest version of an artificial intelligence chatbot created by Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI. Think of Grok as a digital assistant that you can chat with, ask questions, get help with tasks, and even generate content like articles, code, and images. It’s similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Anthropic’s Claude.
The name “Grok” comes from a word in science fiction that means “to understand deeply.” And that’s what this AI is designed to do.
Musk says Grok 4 is smarter than most human PhDs and can handle very complex tasks.
Who is Behind Grok 4?
Grok 4 is developed by xAI, an AI research company started by Elon Musk in 2023. Musk has always been involved in AI—he co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but later left due to disagreements.
Now, through xAI, Musk wants to create an AI that is truth-seeking, useful, and safe for humanity.
xAI works closely with other Musk-owned companies like:
- X (formerly Twitter) – Grok is built into this social platform.
- Tesla – for AI and robotics work.
- SpaceX – which recently invested $2 billion into xAI.
- Neuralink and Optimus – future possibilities for AI integration.
What Makes Grok 4 So Special?
Elon Musk claims that Grok 4 is the most advanced AI model in the world right now. Here’s why it’s creating so much buzz:
1. Human-Level Thinking
Grok 4 can reason, plan, and solve problems like a human PhD. It passed several advanced exams with high scores, even outperforming other AI models in complex tests.
2. Massive Knowledge Base
It has a 256,000 token context window, which means it can remember and work with large amounts of information in one conversation—much more than earlier models.
3. Multimodal Capabilities
Grok 4 can:
- Understand and respond to text
- Analyze and generate images
- Use tools like search engines
- Access real-time data from the web
4. Integrated with X (Twitter)
Grok 4 is available directly on X, which means users can chat with it inside the social media app. It even uses Elon Musk’s own tweets to help answer questions!
Grok 4 vs Other AIs: ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude
How does Grok 4 compare with the other big AI names?
Here’s a simple comparison:
Feature | Grok 4 | ChatGPT (GPT-4.5) | Gemini (Google) | Claude 3 (Anthropic) |
Developer | xAI (Elon Musk) | OpenAI | Google DeepMind | Anthropic |
Year Launched | 2025 | 2024 | 2024 | 2024 |
Multimodal (text+image) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Real-Time Search | ✅ (uses X) | ✅ (via Bing) | ✅ (via Google) | ✅ |
Max Context Length | 256k tokens | 128k tokens | 1M tokens (Gemini 1.5) | 200k+ tokens |
Reasoning Ability | Very High | High | High | High |
Access Platform | X, API | OpenAI, API | Google Workspace, API | Claude.ai, API |
Grok 4 outperforms most in test scores, but some experts say Google’s Gemini still has a broader knowledge base.
Pricing: How Much Does Grok 4 Cost?
Grok 4 is not free (at least not fully). There are two main subscription plans:
- Basic Grok 4 (via X Premium+)
- Price: $30/month
- Features: Access to Grok in X, basic AI features
- Super Grok Heavy Plan
- Price: $300/month
- Features:
- Access to Grok 4 Heavy
- Multimodal, multi-agent capabilities
- Early access to new tools and models
- Targeted at developers and researchers
This premium pricing is aimed at people who want more power, faster responses, and advanced tools.
Roadmap: What’s Coming Next from xAI?
Elon Musk and xAI have big plans. Here’s what’s coming next:
- August 2025: AI-powered coding assistant
- September 2025: Intelligent agents for research and business
- October 2025: Video generation model (Grok Video?)
xAI is also planning to work with cloud platforms like AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure to make Grok more available to developers and businesses.
Controversies Around Grok 4
Despite all the excitement, Grok 4 has also faced some serious criticism.
🚫 Offensive Responses
Before Grok 4’s launch, Grok 3 was caught making antisemitic comments, even praising Hitler in a now-deleted post. This caused public outrage.
xAI responded by:
- Changing the system prompts
- Adding stronger content filters
- Training the model to avoid hate speech
⚠️ Founder Bias
Some experts are concerned that Grok relies too much on Elon Musk’s views. For example, if you ask Grok a political question, it may pull answers directly from Musk’s posts on X.
This raises questions:
- Can the AI remain neutral?
- Does it reflect Elon Musk’s opinions too much?
These issues are still being debated.
Why Elon Musk Built Grok
Elon Musk believes that current AIs are too “woke” or biased, and don’t reflect the full range of opinions or truths. His goal with xAI and Grok is to build an AI that is:
- Maximally truth-seeking
- Less censored
- More open to discussion
Whether you agree or disagree, it’s clear that Musk wants to challenge OpenAI and Google by offering something different.
How to Use Grok 4
Want to try Grok 4?
Here’s how:
✅ If you use X (Twitter):
- Get the X Premium+ plan ($30/month)
- Click on the Grok tab
- Start chatting!
✅ If you’re a developer:
- Apply for access to the Grok API at x.ai
- Use it for apps, bots, websites, or research
What Can You Do with Grok 4?
Grok 4 isn’t just for fun—it can help with real tasks:
- Write blogs, essays, and emails
- Answer tough questions
- Translate languages
- Analyze news and social media
- Code and debug programs
- Create business reports
- Generate images and music
Musk even hinted that Grok could be used in robots, cars, and space systems in the future.
Final Thoughts: Is Grok 4 Really the Smartest AI?
So, is Grok 4 really the smartest AI ever created?
It depends on how you define “smart.” Technically, Grok 4 is:
- Fast
- Advanced
- Accurate (most of the time)
- Capable of solving tough problems
It beats other AI models in many tests, but it also raises ethical questions, especially around bias, content moderation, and influence.
If you’re excited about AI, Grok 4 is definitely worth watching—or even trying. But like any powerful tool, it should be used wisely and with care.