According to a report by The New York Times, Elon Musk has issued a mandatory requirement for the financial institutions involved in the upcoming initial public offering (IPO) of SpaceX. Banks, law firms, auditing agencies, and other advisory teams participating in the listing process are required to purchase and implement subscriptions to his AI chatbot, Grok.
Sources familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the confidential nature of the negotiations, revealed that some banks have already agreed to pay tens of millions of dollars for the service and have begun integrating Grok into their internal IT systems.
SpaceX filed its IPO registration documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this week. This move comes just two months after SpaceX acquired xAI, Musk’s artificial intelligence venture. Notably, xAI had completed its acquisition of the social media platform X back in March.
A Mandatory Commercial Strategy
While Grok was initially designed for individual users on the X platform, xAI has recently rolled out a dedicated enterprise version for corporate clients. Insiders noted that Musk has taken a hardline stance in negotiations, insisting that "these banks must purchase the chatbot service."
In addition to the AI subscription requirement, Musk has also suggested that these banks increase their advertising spend on X. However, his approach to advertising has been described as more flexible compared to the rigid mandate surrounding Grok.
Currently, Grok finds itself at the center of a firestorm. The tool is facing multiple investigations and lawsuits following reports that it generated non-consensual explicit imagery of real people and content involving child sexual abuse. Despite these controversies, Musk appears determined to leverage high-profile projects like the SpaceX IPO to force the adoption of his AI products in the corporate sector.
