Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company has unveiled the latest version of its chatbot, Grok 3, marking a significant advancement in the highly competitive AI landscape, where it will contend with established players like ChatGPT and China’s DeepSeek.
The launch of Grok 3 comes as Musk leverages his considerable influence, granted by US President Donald Trump, to restructure and downsize federal agencies.
This sweeping cost-cutting initiative has sparked concerns over potential conflicts of interest, as many of the agencies involved oversee regulatory aspects of Musk’s vast business empire.
During the Grok 3 launch, Musk explained, “Grok is about understanding the universe. Our curiosity drives us to explore its nature, which is at the core of our mission to develop a truth-seeking AI—one that pursues truth, even when it challenges political correctness.”
Last month, Chinese startup DeepSeek disrupted the industry with the launch of its R1 chatbot, a low-cost, high-quality alternative that challenges US leadership in AI development.
Grok 3 also reignites Musk’s rivalry with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, putting him in direct competition with Sam Altman, a former collaborator turned fierce competitor.
Musk was among the 11 co-founders of OpenAI in 2015, contributing $45 million to counter Google’s dominance in artificial intelligence. However, he departed three years later, and OpenAI’s groundbreaking release of ChatGPT in 2022 propelled Altman to global prominence—without Musk at its center.
Since then, tensions between Musk and Altman have escalated, culminating last week in OpenAI’s board rejecting a Musk-led bid to acquire the company for nearly $100 billion.
