TLDR: xAI has officially launched Grok 4, its most advanced AI model, claiming it outperforms PhD-level intelligence. Initially available through subscriptions, xAI made a groundbreaking announcement on August 10, 2025, declaring Grok 4 permanently free for all users globally, a strategic move to democratize AI and challenge competitors like OpenAI’s GPT-5. The model boasts enhanced reasoning, a specialized coding variant, a realistic voice, and real-time web data integration via DeepSearch.
xAI, led by Elon Musk, has officially introduced Grok 4, marking a significant advancement in artificial intelligence. The new model, which Musk claims to be ‘the most intelligent model in the world’ and superior to ‘any PhD student in any field,’ was initially unveiled with a focus on its powerful capabilities and competitive edge in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
Grok 4 was trained on xAI’s formidable ‘Colossus’ supercomputer, a cluster comprising 200,000 GPUs. This extensive training, coupled with reinforcement learning, has refined Grok’s reasoning abilities, enabling it to excel in logical reasoning, complex problem-solving, and scientific applications. Benchmarking results from Artificial Analysis, a trusted AI performance tracking platform, show Grok 4 ranking first in their Intelligence Index, as well as leading in Coding and Math indices, demonstrating strong performance across LiveCodeBench, SciCode, AIME24, and MATH-500. While it generates approximately 75 output tokens per second, making it slower than some rivals like o3 and Gemini 2.5 Pro, it surpasses Claude 4 Opus in speed when operating with its Thinking mode.
The model is available in two primary operational modes: a single-agent Grok 4 for general tasks and a multi-agent Grok 4 Heavy designed for more demanding and complex assignments. Furthermore, xAI has introduced user-centric modes: Auto Mode, which intelligently assesses query complexity to optimize efficiency, and Expert Mode, allowing users to route all queries through Grok 4 for full access to its capabilities. New features include Grok 4 Code, a specialized variant for efficient code writing, debugging, and explanation; Grok 4 Voice, offering a natural and realistic voice with fewer interruptions; and DeepSearch, a tool capable of pulling live data from the web, particularly from the X platform, for up-to-date results.
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Initially, Grok 4 was accessible to SuperGrok and Premium+ subscribers, with a SuperGrok Heavy tier priced at $300 per month for access to the most advanced Grok 4 Heavy model. However, in a pivotal announcement on August 10, 2025, xAI declared that Grok 4 would be made permanently free for all users worldwide. This bold strategic move is set to disrupt the AI industry, positioning xAI as a formidable competitor against leading models like OpenAI’s recently launched GPT-5. By removing financial barriers, xAI aims to democratize access to advanced AI technology and accelerate its global adoption, encouraging widespread experimentation with generous initial usage limits. Elon Musk has also indicated future plans to integrate Grok into Tesla vehicles and addressed past issues with Grok 3, stating that racist remarks have been rectified in both Grok 3 and 4.
