Business · 2026-11-02
Elon Musk limits Grok Bot usage because of 'unsustainably high' costs
Over the weekend, Elon Musk confirmed that Grok Bot users suddenly hit their weekly usage limits because running the bot costs too much compared to its revenue.
What happened
In early November, some Grok Bot users noticed their weekly usage limits were unexpectedly used up. In their posts on X, they said their usage jumped from 50% to 100%, even though they had not been using the bot overnight.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Sunday on X that this was not a glitch. Replying to a user, he wrote: "The cost of serving Grok Bot was unsustainably high relative to revenue." He has not addressed the issue in his main feed.
Why it matters
Grok Bot is SpaceX's AI bot, which the company has presented as one of its success stories. Usage limits determine how much a user can use the bot in a week. Musk has not yet said what the new limits will be for subscribers.
In a filing last month, SpaceX said AI now makes up 52% of its income. Its division, now renamed "Super Intelligence," reportedly made a profit of $431 million, which is rare in the AI industry. The profit would have been higher without $1.2 billion in one-time costs related to the acquisition of Cursor.
Musk recently described Grok Bot as having "the fastest growth of a product that I've ever seen in my life."
What's next
It is not yet known how the limits for paying subscribers will change, or whether they will change at all. Users of Grok Bot should follow official updates from Musk and SpaceX on X.
Useful from the source
- Elon Musk's post on Grok Bot costs — Musk's direct reply explaining why Grok Bot limits were cut.
- User post about usage jumping from 50% to 100% — A user's post showing how quickly their usage increased.