Musk's Strategic Counterattack: Grok 4's Sudden Global Free Release Shakes the AI Industry

News Summary

Elon Musk's xAI announced that Grok 4 is now freely available to all users worldwide. This significant decision follows OpenAI's release of GPT-5, marking the AI industry's competition entering an intense stage.

Details of the Free Policy Revealed

According to xAI's official announcement, free users can now access Grok 4 through two modes: Auto Mode and Expert Mode. In Auto Mode, Grok automatically routes complex queries to Grok 4; while in "Expert Mode," Grok 4 is always used.

However, what xAI calls "generous usage limits" is actually a maximum of 5 uses of Grok 4 every 12 hours. This limit has raised user concerns, especially since the entire application becomes completely unusable once the usage limit is reached.

Paid Users' Discontent Erupts

This decision is not without controversy. Paid users feel "stabbed in the back," as Grok currently offers two subscription tiers: $30/month and $300/month. Many paid users have expressed their dissatisfaction on social media, questioning why they should pay for a service that was previously free.

When users asked Grok if they should cancel their subscriptions, the AI gave a diplomatic answer, emphasizing that paid users still enjoy higher usage limits and additional features.

Technical Capabilities Test

According to media's practical tests, when asked questions in Chinese, Grok 4 tends to first translate the question into English to facilitate subsequent information retrieval. In terms of complex task processing, Grok 4 demonstrated strong information retrieval capabilities, but still has room for improvement in specific tasks like code generation.

Tests showed that when handling a fluid mechanics problem, Grok 4 decided to start answering after consulting 111 pages, demonstrating its powerful real-time search capabilities.

Accompanying Features Updated Simultaneously

Coinciding with Grok 4's free availability, Elon Musk also announced that an improved version of Grok's video generation service, Grok Imagine, is now available. The new version supports video sharing, fixes download issues, and adds a mute function.

These updates are considered a response to Grok's previous generation of controversial content, indicating xAI's efforts to improve content management.

New Landscape of Industry Competition

Grok 4's free availability comes shortly after the release of GPT-5; this timing is certainly no coincidence. Industry analysts believe that this is a strategic counter-attack by Musk in the AI race, aiming to rapidly expand the user base through a free strategy.

However, free access is not a panacea. Grok 4's unconventional views on controversial topics and xAI's reticence to disclose technical details have led users to adopt a reserved attitude towards this model.

Future Outlook

As AI service prices continue to fall, the industry is entering a new phase of development. With the continuous maturation of AI technology, perhaps more and more companies will choose to offer AI services at more accessible prices to expand their user base and achieve economies of scale.

Grok 4's free availability is just the beginning of this trend, and it is expected that more AI companies will join this "free war" in the future, with global users ultimately benefiting.

While Musk's move is bold, the challenges it faces are equally significant. How to ensure profitability while offering services for free, and how to address user dissatisfaction with usage limits – these are key issues that xAI needs to resolve.