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Pavel Durov claims Grok AI coming to Telegram, Elon Musk denies: $300M deal drama unfolds on X

Pavel Durov claims Grok AI coming to Telegram, Elon Musk denies: $300M deal drama unfolds on X

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On X, Pavel Durov wrote, "Together, we win," and claimed that he and Musk have "agreed to a 1-year partnership to bring xAI's Grok to our billion+ users and integrate it across all Telegram apps".

Telegram's CEO Pavel Durov on Wednesday (May 28) announced that Telegram users would soon have access to Grok AI; however, Elon Musk, whose company owns the chatbot, quickly denied the claim.

Telegram-xAI deal happening or not?

On X, Durov wrote "Together, we win" and claimed that "This summer, Telegram users will gain access to the best AI technology on the market."

The Telegram CEO claimed that he and Musk have "agreed to a 1-year partnership to bring xAI's Grok to our billion+ users and integrate it across all Telegram apps".

However, just hours later, Musk called out Durov's claims and, in a reply to the Telegram CEO's post, wrote, "No deal has been signed".

Drama brewing?

While netizens were all geared up for drama, Durov, in an apparent attempt to salvage the situation, acknowledging Musk's statement, claimed that a deal has been “agreed in principle, but formalities are pending”.

Durov's trigger-happy post has prompted X users to question, "Why would someone announce a deal before it’s inked on paper?"

One user commented, "you should not say things until the ink is dry," while a second user said, "Bro, don’t blow the deal for breaking the news first".

Yet another pointed out that "Agreed in principle doesn't mean anything". "I agree in principle with Amazon that deliveries should be fast and on time. It doesn’t mean I’m partners with them. How funny that Elon called you out," they added.

Musk-Durov's $300 million partnership

The much-awaited deal comes with a whopping $300 million price. As per Durov – if the deal goes through – in exchange for implementing Grok AI across its platform, Telegram will receive $300 million in cash and equity, plus 50 per cent of the revenue from xAI subscriptions sold via Telegram.

With this deal, xAI would also gain access to Telegram's wide user base of more than one billion – as per Durov's estimates.