On this week’s episode of Elon, Inc., host Max Chafkin and Bloomberg News reporters Dana Hull and Kurt Wagner chat about Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI. The endeavor just debuted its new Grok 4 model on the heels of an antisemitism controversy, but Musk sees a brighter future for his creation, claiming it might discover “new physics” one day. Before that happens, though, the buzziest feature of the model is its AI companions—including a pigtailed and corseted anime character.
Musk introduced Grok 4 as news dropped that one of his other companies, SpaceX, would invest in xAI, and that another company he happens to run, Tesla, might follow suit (pending a shareholder vote). Our guests discuss what exactly it means when a rocket company and a car company invest in another company that’s making AI girlfriends, especially when all those companies happen to be run by the richest man in the world.
Then Wagner takes over the hosting chair to interview New York Times reporter Teddy Schleifer about the role Musk and his Silicon Valley billionaire pals have played in building the Trump administration, starting before the Republican took office. The conversation is the first in a summer series in which our Elon, Inc. panelists interview Musk reporters about the stories we’re jealous we didn’t write first.
Schleifer recounts the weeks following Election Day last year, when Musk embedded himself at Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago in an effort to influence the future president’s plans. As candidates for top cabinet positions began swinging by the Florida club, they found themselves seated across from Musk’s loyal aides. Wagner and Schleifer also discuss the constantly evolving relationship between Musk and Trump, and whether Musk will still be involved in politics when the year comes to a close.
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