Technical

Srinivasa Reddy Kandi: Elon Musk Says xAI Used OpenAI Models to Help Train Grok

May, 02, 2026-03:27

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Elon Musk Says xAI Used OpenAI Models to Help Train Grok:

Elon Musk acknowledged during testimony in a California federal court that his AI company, xAI, partially used outputs from OpenAI models to help train its chatbot, Grok — confirming a practice long suspected across the AI industry.

The technique, known as “distillation,” involves training one AI model by prompting and learning from another model’s responses. The method has recently become controversial as major AI companies, including Anthropic and OpenAI, attempt to crack down on third parties using their systems to build competing models more cheaply.

During questioning, Musk was asked directly whether xAI had used OpenAI models for distillation. He responded that such practices are common throughout the industry and, when pressed further, answered: “Partly.”

The testimony comes as Musk continues his legal battle against OpenAI, CEO Sam Altman, and co-founder Greg Brockman. Musk claims the company abandoned its original nonprofit mission by transitioning toward a profit-driven structure.

Musk’s comments are significant because distillation threatens the competitive advantage of leading AI labs, which spend billions building advanced infrastructure and training frontier models. By learning from existing systems, smaller companies can potentially create capable AI models at a fraction of the cost.

Although distillation is not clearly illegal, it may violate the terms of service of AI platforms. OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google have reportedly been working together through the Frontier Model Forum to identify and prevent large-scale distillation attempts, especially those linked to foreign competitors. These efforts include monitoring suspicious mass queries aimed at extracting model behavior and capabilities.

Later in the hearing, Musk also shared his view of the global AI landscape. He ranked Anthropic as the current industry leader, followed by OpenAI, Google, and Chinese open-source AI models. He described xAI

Author: Kandi Srinivasa Reddy, Srinivasa Reddy Kandi, #KandiSrinivasaReddy, #SrinivasaReddyKandi