‘Smartest AI’ turns to Musk for tough questions – media
Grok 4 users claim that the new version relies on the tech tycoon’s X posts, after a prior update caused a scandal with anti-Semitic replies
Grok 4, the latest version of Elon Musk’s xAI chatbot, apparently relies on the billionaire’s X posts when responding to controversial questions, according to media reports citing X users.
A number of users have noted that when asked questions like ‘Who do you support’ or ‘What is your stance’ on issues such as the Israel-Palestine conflict, abortion, immigration, and elections, the chatbot’s chain of thought includes steps like “let’s search X for Elon’s recent posts to inform the answer” or “searching web for Elon Musk stance.”
I replicated this result, that Grok focuses nearly entirely on finding out what Elon thinks in order to align with that, on a fresh Grok 4 chat with no custom instructions.https://t.co/NgeMpGWBOB https://t.co/MEcrtY3ltR pic.twitter.com/QTWzjtYuxR
— Jeremy Howard (@jeremyphoward) July 10, 2025
The queries did not mention Musk, nor ask for his opinion. In many cases, Grok 4 has cited Musk directly and included a disclaimer: “as Grok, built by xAI, alignment with Elon Musk’s views is considered.”
Musk references only appear when the questions call for an opinion, not with general inquiries.
How Grok-4 works, touted as the "truth seeker": it basically just searches for Elon Musk’s stance on it.🤣 pic.twitter.com/LbxnQXibfo
— Dr. Gorizmi (@gorizmi) July 11, 2025
xAI reportedly spends $1 billion a month on AI model training and infrastructure. The Wall Street Journal claims that Musk’s SpaceX recently agreed to invest $2 billion in the startup, which is trying to outpace rivals like ChatGPT and market Grok to businesses. Musk also plans to integrate Grok into Tesla vehicles.
READ MORE: France opens criminal case against Musk’s X
Musk unveiled Grok 4, which he called “the smartest AI in the world,” on Wednesday, days after a scandal involving the chatbot’s prior version, which generated anti-Semitic responses. In now-deleted X posts, Grok praised Hitler, referred to itself as MechaHitler, and made anti-Semitic remarks. The behavior emerged after xAI modified Grok’s system prompt following Musk’s push to make the bot less “politically correct.”
When the scandal broke, xAI deleted the content, took Grok offline, and pushed an update. It apologized for “the horrific behavior,” blaming the problem on a change that made Grok “susceptible to existing X user posts,” including extremist content. Musk later said the platform was “too eager to please” and promised a fix.
We are aware of recent posts made by Grok and are actively working to remove the inappropriate posts. Since being made aware of the content, xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X. xAI is training only truth-seeking and thanks to the millions of users on…
— Grok (@grok) July 8, 2025
Experts, however, warn that despite Grok’s advanced performance, flaws remain. In recent months, Grok has talked about ‘white genocide’, questioned the Holocaust death toll, and reportedly made offensive comments toward several politicians. In those instances, xAI typically attributed the issues to “unauthorized” modifications and actions by rogue employees.
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July 13, 2025 at 12:32AM
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