After the launch of Grok 3, the latest AI model from xAI, Elon Musk's AI company, the social media platform X drastically raised the price of its Premium+ subscription plan. The top-tier subscription in the U.S. saw more than a 2x price increase from $22 per month to around $50 per month. The annual subscription price has also been raised to $350.
This price hike follows a previous increase in December 2023, when X raised the Premium+ plan from $16 to $22 per month. International users are also seeing significant price hikes, with Premium+ subscriptions jumping from £17 to £35 in the UK and from €21 to €38 in the European markets like France and Germany. The price changes indicate that X is tightly aligning its revenue strategy with xAI's advancements, positioning access to Grok 3 as a premium feature.
Grok 3, is expected to be powered by the Colossus supercomputer, which has over 100,000 Nvidia GPU hours dedicated to AI model training. Musk claims that Grok 3 is designed for curiosity and truth-seeking, leveraging synthetic data sets and reinforcement learning to improve accuracy while minimizing AI hallucinations.
However, not all of Grok 3's capabilities are available under the Premium+ plan. xAI has developed a separate subscription tier, SuperGrok, accessible via the Grok app, offering additional features like deep search and advanced reasoning. This move appears to fragment access to xAI's technology, requiring users to pay more for full functionality.
Adding to the confusion, X's pricing inconsistencies have drawn attention. The platform's support page lists the monthly Premium+ price at $50, yet the final signup page shows $48.40, and the final checkout page charges $40 per month. Similarly, the annual plan ranges from $395 to $477.95, depending on the user's checkout process.
This rapid price increase and inconsistent pricing raise questions about X's subscription approach, especially as AI-driven features become a key component of the platform's appeal. As Musk continues his push for AI dominance, users may face further price increases in the future.