Grok joins Telegram in first expansion beyond X

Elon Musk’s chatbot Grok is now available directly on Telegram, a messaging platform owned by Russian billionaire Pavel Durov.

For now, only Telegram Premium subscribers can access and chat with Grok, which has been integrated into the encrypted app and can be found under the username @GrokAI.

Users only need to start a chat and Grok will respond, although some advanced features may still require logging into X or the chatbot’s app.

Telegram Premium costs $4.99 per month in the US and offers users additional features such as unlimited cloud storage, voice-to-text conversion, real-time translation, and faster download speeds.

The move marks Grok’s first major expansion beyond X, tapping into Telegram’s vast user base. The messaging platform announced last week that it now has over 1 billion active monthly users.

Durov celebrated the milestone by taking a swipe at WhatsApp, the app’s main rival with 2 billion monthly active users. The tech entrepreneur described the Meta-owned platform as “a cheap, watered-down imitation of Telegram.”

He also claimed that Telegram managed to grow and become profitable while maintaining its independence.

Both Durov and Musk see themselves as defenders of free speech, which may also explain the partnership. Musk publicly backed Durov after his arrest in France over allegations that his platform enabled organized crime and failed to curtain extremist content.

Earlier in March, Durov was released on a €5 million ($5.6 million) bail and allowed to leave the country, flying to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, where Telegram is based.

Grok was developed by xAI, which Musk founded in 2023 as a direct rival to OpenAI and ChatGPT.