Elon Musk Says SpaceX Data Will Help Train Next Grok Model

Elon Musk says SpaceX’s engineering data will feed into the next training run for Grok, xAI’s AI model, while keeping any information restricted under US arms export rules out of the mix entirely.

A Bigger Model on the Way

Musk shared the plan on X on July 21, describing it as a direct boost to Grok’s engineering capabilities. According to post, SpaceX data will support supplemental training for a new model built on 2 trillion parameters, nearly double the 1.5 trillion parameters behind the V9 architecture currently powering Grok 4.5. Musk said the data set excludes anything covered by the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, the US law restricting the sharing of defense and space technology information, keeping SpaceX compliant while still passing along rocket and satellite engineering knowledge.

Mixed Reactions From Developers

Musk’s announcement came in response to a developer who spent weeks testing Grok Build against OpenAI’s Codex, reporting that Grok Build performed better on complex coding tasks. That feedback follows a rockier stretch for the model, with earlier reviews pointing to mixed benchmark results despite Musk describing Grok 4.5 as comparable to Anthropic’s top-tier Claude models.

The data pledge follows SpaceX’s earlier move to acquire Cursor’s parent company in a $60 billion deal shortly after its IPO. Separately, xAI announced Grok for Excel is now live, letting users build financial models and analyze data using Grok 4.5. Whether the larger model actually narrows the performance gap with rivals will depend on independent benchmark testing going forward.