The $16 per month Grok is currently only offered to select U.S. users. Musk says its advantage is real-time knowledge via integrating with X. Grok also aims for a more irreverent tone.

Its underlying Grok-1 engine bested GPT-3.5 on academic benchmarks but not the more advanced GPT-4. xAI claims rapid progress in efficient AI training.

Launching his own chatbot lets Musk shape AI development aligned with his goals. The subscription monetizes it while data improves capabilities. But safety guards aren't fully implemented yet.

Grok represents Musk's bid to compete in conversational AI amid breakneck progress. Its limited rollout enables controlled testing before wide release. Rivaling ChatGPT is now a race among tech titans.