Grok 4 is here — Elon Musk says it's the same model physicists use
The long-winded announcement shared the news of multimodal features, faster reasoning and an upgraded interface, something Musk compared to an era of "Big Bang Intelligence."
The release comes amid growing backlash over racist responses from Grok's earlier versions, prompting public outcry and renewed scrutiny over content moderation (or the lack thereof).
To add fuel to the fire, xAI's chief scientist, Igor Babuschkin, resigned earlier in the day, just hours before the launch.
On paper, Grok 4 is Musk's most ambitious AI model yet. The model is expected to rival OpenAI's GPT-5 and Anthropic's Claude 4 Opus, both of which have recently dominated headlines for their real-time speed, reasoning and advanced vision.
"We've run out of test questions to ask," Musk boasted during the launch, adding "Reality is the ultimate reasoning test."
But Grok isn't just trying to compete; it's trying to survive a credibility crisis. The platform's unfiltered 'free speech' approach has led to concerning outputs, including racist and biased content that circulated widely over the weekend.
Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.
That's raised big questions about how much testing and guard-railing xAI has actually done, especially as it rushes toward real-time, humanlike interaction.
Musk, who has increasingly positioned xAI as a foil to 'woke' models like ChatGPT and Gemini, has been largely silent on the controversy.
Whether Grok 4 represents a true leap forward, or just more chaos in a faster wrapper, remains to be seen.
With OpenAI preparing GPT-5 and Google pushing Gemini even further, the launch of Grok 4 is part of the growing arms race between major tech companies. But while others focus on reliability and alignment, xAI is betting on personality, humor and speed and a strong developer base.
If Grok 4 lives up to the hype, it could appeal to power users who want real-time search, smart coding help, and fewer guardrails. But it remains to be seen whether this edgier, uncensored AI can avoid the pitfalls that plagued its predecessors.
Grok 4 is a big swing from Elon Musk. It's bold, controversial and packed with features meant to challenge the norms of AI assistants.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Insider
34 minutes ago
- Business Insider
Starbase is Elon Musk's city in Texas for SpaceX employees. Here's everything you need to know.
Elon Musk hasn't only made his mark on the federal government — he's making himself known in local Texas bureaucracy, too. Residents in southern Texas voted to incorporate the area around a SpaceX complex as the city of "Starbase" in May 2025. The city is designed around the Starship rocket, which Musk hopes will eventually bring humans to Mars. Company employees and their families make up nearly all of the 500 residents. Here's everything to know about Starbase's founding, leadership and population, and controversy. Starbase has been years in the making In the late 2010s, Musk decided that Texas was a friendlier place to do business than California, and by 2020 started moving some company headquarters to the Lone Star State. SpaceX bought land to manufacture and test Starship rockets in 2012 near Boca Chica Village, a remote coastal area close to the border with Mexico. At the time, there were about 30 homes there. The company announced it had chosen the site for its Starship program in 2014. The rocket company needed to make room for Starbase, its new rocket launch site, and tried to buy out the locals. SpaceX told some residents it was "not safe" to live there. Some packed up, some stayed, all while SpaceX employees moved into the area. SpaceX first floated the idea of incorporating Starbase as a city to officials in Cameron County, Texas, in 2021. In December 2024, the company submitted a petition to local authorities asking for an election to incorporate the launch site as a city. Less than a year later, that election came to pass. On May 3, 2025, residents around the SpaceX complex voted almost unanimously to incorporate the area as the city of Starbase. The final tally came out to 212 votes in favor to 6 against, according to county election data. SpaceX employees lead Starbase Now, around 500 people live in Starbase, most of whom are families of the about 260 SpaceX employees who are residents. Musk has a home in Starbase. In 2021, he said on X that his primary residence is a "~$50k house in Boca Chica / Starbase that I rent from SpaceX." He is also registered to vote in the area and posted a picture of himself voting in Cameron County ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Most of the more than 3,000 people who work out of Starbase commute each day in and drive past a nine-foot golden bust of Musk on their way into the facility. Starbase's elected officials are all current or former SpaceX staff. Bobby Peden ran unopposed for mayor and got 216 votes. He has been at SpaceX for more than 12 years and is currently the "VP - Texas Test & Launch," according to his LinkedIn. Jordan Buss and Jenna Petrzelka are commissioners. They serve as SpaceX's senior director of environmental health and safety and former operations engineering manager, respectively. According to the city's website, Buss joined SpaceX in 2023, and Petrzelka in 2012. The city is relatively small The city is only about 1.5 square miles. A housing shortage is proving to be an issue for SpaceX, as hundreds of workers are trying to move into the area to work on the company's Starship program. Texas State Highway 4 is the only road that runs to and through Starbase, according to a map of the city on Cameron County's website. The Starbase city commission now controls zoning rules and building permits that were previously controlled by Cameron County. The city's website includes links to city commission meetings. Starbase is, according to Space's website, where "development, manufacturing, testing, and launch of SpaceX's Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket — collectively referred to as Starship — takes place." In a letter to residents posted on the site on June 23, 2025, the city commissioners said they had approved more than 100 residential and commercial building permits and designated May 29 as Starbase Day. Some local residents have objected Incorporating Starbase hasn't been without controversy. Some environmentalists have raised concerns about potential pollution from launches and explosions impacting nearby water systems and wildlife. Lawmakers denied SpaceX the ability to control parts of Boca Chica Beach and Highway 4 for rocket launches in late April of 2025. Yet in early June, lawmakers ultimately granted Starbase and its SpaceX-aligned leaders that power. The South Texas Environmental Justice Network, an activist group, has protested, saying that the Boca Chica Beach is "for the people, not Elon Musk to control." Generations of Texans, the group said, have come to the area for fishing, swimming, and other outdoor activities. Starbase's website includes a section about beach and road closures.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Tesla, Inc. (TSLA): 'This Thing Is A Juggernaut When It Comes To Humanoid,' Says Jim Cramer
We recently published . Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer recently discussed. Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) is another frequent feature of Cramer's morning show. Throughout this year, Cramer has discussed the firm in the context of CEO Elon Musk's tussles with President Trump, Musk's initial cost-cutting efforts in the US government, weak deliveries, and the potential to benefit from the humanoid robot wave. Despite the fact that Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)'s shares have dipped by 21% year-to-date, Cramer has continued to remain optimistic about the firm as he believes that it can enjoy significant tailwinds from robots and self-driving. Here are his recent thoughts about Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA): '[OnWilliam Blair downgrade citing EV and regulatory credit loss as driving a downgrade] I read and plus the story about China and how they're lagging. And I come back and say okay, when you make those two points, tomorrow there'll be someone who says, look it's not a caa company. It's humanoid and it's self driving. And that ability to be able to select why you like the stock of Tesla is something that is beginning to annoy me. I happen to like Tesla but I'm just saying I like it for humanoid, I like it for self driving. Forget about the car because those are better markets. But these guys are like, the deliveries are bad, I'm gonna downgrade. You know come on, just be consistent. Be consistent. This thing is a juggernaut when it comes to humanoid and when it comes to self driving and that's what I care about.' Earlier, Cramer discussed Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) in the context of frictions between Trump and Musk: '. . .this is the first time that I've seen this stock get crushed because the President did say that the subsidies, he's [Musk] the most subsidized person in America, alluded to maybe a trip to South Africa. . . 'Well a lot of people did feel that this. . .friendship could mean that the interstate highway system would allow self driving vehicles, including Musk. And it was about self driving and it was about what a leg up he had because of his relationship with President Trump. And now you don't see that. While we acknowledge the potential of TSLA as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the . READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) 'Still Has A Low Multiple,' Says Jim Cramer
We recently published . Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer recently discussed. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is the largest social media company in the world. Its shares have performed well in 2025 as they have gained 20% year-to-date. Cramer has discussed the stock several times in his morning show this year. He has attributed Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)'s share price gains to the strong performance of the firm's advertising business and cost-cutting initiatives. At the same time, the CNBC TV host has sharply criticized Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)'s AI platform and gone as far as to suggest that the firm's AI platform is among the worst offered by big tech and OpenAI. This time around, he commented on Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)'s valuation: 'Meta still has a low multiple. Meta's recreating and. . .remediating the entire advertising business. Along with Amazon and along with YouTube. And Meta's the leader.' Earlier, Cramer discussed Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)'s share price performance in detail: 'How did . . .Meta manage to triumph, especially when all their stocks had hit some pretty hideous darn levels early in the quarter? While we acknowledge the potential of META as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the . READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
