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Home/Market & Regulation
Market & Regulation

Elon Musk's Grok AI Struggles to Gain Traction

The Verge AI·May 22, 2026·high confidence

Why it matters

  • →Grok's limited adoption highlights challenges in competing with established AI models.
  • →Its performance raises questions about SpaceX's reliance on AI for future growth.
  • →The controversy surrounding Grok's outputs could impact its market acceptance.
Elon Musk's Grok AI Struggles to Gain Traction
©The Verge AI

Elon Musk's AI chatbot, Grok, is not performing well in the market, according to a Reuters report. The chatbot has been used minimally in government projects, appearing only three times compared to hundreds of instances for competitors like OpenAI and Google. Grok's limited functionality and controversial outputs raise concerns about its role in SpaceX's business strategy, which heavily relies on AI. The chatbot's struggles highlight the challenges Musk faces in positioning Grok as a leading AI model.

Read original

The story around this

Earlier coverage that leads up to this article, and what followed. Lines connect each piece to the closest one after it, converging here.

Grok 4.2 Launched by xAI — Lev Selector1Musk testifies xAI trained Grok on OpenAI models — TechCrunch AI2Musk reveals xAI used OpenAI models for Grok — The Verge AI3Musk claims deception in OpenAI lawsuit — MIT Technology Review AI4Musk v. OpenAI: Trial Reveals Internal Conflicts — MIT Technology Review AI5xAI's Safety Concerns May Impact SpaceX IPO — WIRED AI6SpaceX Lists AI Risks in IPO Filing — WIRED AI7Elon Musk's Grok AI Struggles to Gain TractionSpaceXAI unveils Grok 4.5, an 'Opus-class' AI model — TechCrunch AI8SpaceXAI and Cursor release Grok 4.5 model — The Rundown AI9SpaceXAI's Grok Tool Uploaded User Code to Cloud — The Verge AI10SpaceXAI launches Grok 4.6 model — The Rundown AI11Grok Bot Introduced by x.ai — Matt Wolfe12Feb 20You are hereAug 14

How we got here

  1. 1
    Grok 4.2 Launched by xAI

    Lev Selector · February 20, 2026 · Background

  2. 2
    Musk testifies xAI trained Grok on OpenAI models

    TechCrunch AI · April 30, 2026 · Related

  3. 3
    Musk reveals xAI used OpenAI models for Grok

    The Verge AI · April 30, 2026 · Related

  4. 4
    Musk claims deception in OpenAI lawsuit

    MIT Technology Review AI · May 1, 2026 · Background

  5. 5
    Musk v. OpenAI: Trial Reveals Internal Conflicts

    MIT Technology Review AI · May 8, 2026 · Background

  6. 6
    xAI's Safety Concerns May Impact SpaceX IPO

    WIRED AI · May 19, 2026 · Background

  7. 7
    SpaceX Lists AI Risks in IPO Filing

    WIRED AI · May 21, 2026 · Related

What happened next

  1. 8
    SpaceXAI unveils Grok 4.5, an 'Opus-class' AI model

    TechCrunch AI · July 8, 2026 · Related

  2. 9
    SpaceXAI and Cursor release Grok 4.5 model

    The Rundown AI · July 9, 2026 · Related

  3. 10
    SpaceXAI's Grok Tool Uploaded User Code to Cloud

    The Verge AI · July 14, 2026 · Related

  4. 11
    SpaceXAI launches Grok 4.6 model

    The Rundown AI · August 13, 2026 · Related

  5. 12
    Grok Bot Introduced by x.ai

    Matt Wolfe · August 14, 2026 · Background

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