Reported by TechCrunch AI
Over Halloween weekend, some Grok Bot users awoke to something especially spooky: their weekly usage limits were unexpectedly maxed out, even if they hadn’t been using SpaceX’s agentic AI overnight. Some users reported on X that their usage jumped from as low as 50% to 100% .
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk confirmed in an X post on Sunday that this was not a glitch.
“The cost of serving Grok Bot was unsustainably high relative to revenue,” he wrote in a reply to a question from a user. He has not addressed the issue on his main feed, but has continued boasting that Grok Bot can help you buy gifts for your family.
More from the original report
The cost of serving Grok Bot was unsustainably high relative to revenue
Grok Bot has been positioned as a success story for the newly public SpaceX, which said in a filing last month that AI now makes up 52% of company income. Its renamed “Super Intelligence” division actually turned a profit of $431 million, which is a rarity in the AI industry. Its profit would’ve been higher if not for $1.2 billion of one-time costs related to its acquisition of Cursor . Musk recently referred to Grok Bot as having “the fastest growth of a product that I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Musk has not yet shared how subscribers’ usage limits will be impacted moving forward.
Buy One Pass, Get a Second Free Cover more ground at TechCrunch’s ultimate founder bootcamp of the year by bringing your co-founder or partner for free Book before the BOGO deal expires
Every weekday and Sunday, you can get the best of TechCrunch’s coverage.
TechCrunch Mobility is your destination for transportation news and insight.
Startups are the core of TechCrunch, so get our best coverage delivered weekly.
Provides movers and shakers with the info they need to start their day.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice .