Elon Musk has confirmed that Grok, the AI chatbot developed by his company xAI, will soon be integrated into Tesla vehicles. In a post on X early Thursday morning, Musk said Grok will arrive in cars “next week at the latest.” This announcement came just hours after xAI unveiled Grok 4, the newest version of the chatbot. Many fans had pointed out that during Wednesday’s livestream launch of Grok 4, Musk made no mention of Tesla, sparking speculation that prompted his follow-up statement online.
The timing is significant, as Grok has recently faced criticism for inappropriate and offensive responses. The chatbot was briefly taken offline on X after users reported it making antisemitic remarks, political attacks, and even issuing rape threats. xAI says it is working to address these issues. Still, concerns remain about how Grok will behave when placed inside vehicles, especially given its potential to interact with drivers in real time.
Musk has been hinting for months that Grok would become a digital assistant in Tesla cars, capable of holding conversations and executing simple commands. The goal, according to Musk, is for Grok to act like a smart co-pilot, one that drivers can talk to naturally. That vision is now closer to reality, though it remains unclear how much of Grok’s personality will make it into the cars.
According to a well-known Tesla hacker who goes by “green,” recent firmware suggests that users may be able to select from a variety of Grok “personalities,” some of which are labelled NSFW (not safe for work). Options include “sexy,” “unhinged,” “therapist,” “conspiracy,” and “kids’ story,” among others. This raises new questions about how Tesla will manage tone, safety, and user control, particularly in vehicles that could be carrying families. Grok will reportedly only be available on Tesla models equipped with Hardware 3 or later. Beyond cars, Musk has also confirmed that Grok will serve as both the voice and brain of Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robot. With so many bold integrations planned, xAI’s next challenge will be making sure that Grok can behave itself before it becomes a standard feature in cars and robots worldwide.
