Authors: Ejaaz, Limitless
Original title: Elon Musk's Unfair Advantages
Compiled and edited by: BitpushNews
Recently, xAI has been heavily criticized. However, even though Musk has repeatedly proven those who are extremely skeptical of him wrong over the decades, I think people are still underestimating him.
Let's not forget, we're talking about a startup that's only been around for two years. Yet they've built a groundbreaking data center in 122 days (which usually takes four years), are bringing their products to 600 million monthly active users, and have something other AI labs don't have—a physical platform ( yes, humanoid robots ).
I will analyze why xAI's upcoming Grok 5 will not only catch up with its competitors, but is also expected to surpass them in every aspect.
Here are a few reasons why xAI may dominate the competition...
Musk's energy empire
Entering 2026, with xAI rapidly expanding its data center scale, it possesses a structural computing power advantage. It is estimated that its current operational computing capacity is equivalent to approximately 500,000 GPUs, surpassing its top competitors.
Furthermore, through efforts at the Colossus I and Colossus II data centers, his goal is to have 900,000 GPUs online by the second quarter of this year, and he is pushing for more than 1 million GPUs in the near future.
How the hell are you going to compete with this scale? It's not just about capital expenditure or even the hardware itself—it's about how they achieve their goals in a completely different way.
For example, the power grids in Tennessee and Memphis couldn't fully support his data center, so he airlifted gas turbines to make up the difference. He chose to completely bypass the state's power grid—simply to achieve his goals faster.
His thinking on the entire power architecture is also unique; he has deployed up to 250 megawatt-hours of Tesla Megapack battery packs in relevant facilities to ensure model training in the event of a surge in power demand and grid inability to support it.
Elon's advantage in physically "moving mountains and filling seas" to achieve its vision is obvious; this is giving xAI a huge computing power advantage over its competitors.
If the formula "more computing power = better model" still holds true (which seems to be the case at present), then when Grok 5, rumored to have 7 trillion parameters, is released, it will become an absolute behemoth (more than twice the 3 trillion parameters of Grok 4).
You must understand that the regulatory burden, talent acquisition, and operational logistics required to achieve this scale are unprecedented. xAI currently appears to be far ahead in the race to scale AI infrastructure, with its strategy of "execute first, ask questions later."
Unless other labs follow suit, xAI's models will continue to lead the way.
How can we compete like this?
Elon is practically playing Civilization in the real world, and he's ranked number one among AIs.
To power his GPU, this person airlifted power plants directly from overseas.
He expanded a data center to 300 megawatts in less than four months, which would have taken four years.
Okay, for those who want to know the actual details:
"Macrohard isn't just a joke—the word is actually painted on the roof of the Colossus 2 data center, clearly visible in satellite images. It's a classic Musk prank: using the name to mock software giants that build from scratch using AI, specifically Microsoft."
X: The victor in the social media siege
Therefore, I believe I have demonstrated xAI's computational advantages, but top-tier models require more than just GPUs—they also need massive amounts of data.
Moreover, it's not just any data. More and more AI labs are realizing that real-time data is the key to unlocking personalized AI, which can deeply understand your desires and goals and help you achieve them.
Google's latest "personal intelligence" product perhaps best illustrates that this will ultimately be the direction of model development, but xAI possesses a unique advantage that competitors like Google do not have...
None of its competitors have a social media platform capable of feeding it over 100 million posts daily, mapping the global cultural pulse in real time. The data deluge from Platform X also allows the team to gain massive, in-depth understanding of viral spread and human behavior—potentially better than any other dataset in the world.
Other models only tell you what happened, while Grok tells you what happened and how people felt about those events—and faster than anyone else. It's hard to refute X's data moat.
But it's not just about the numbers; X boasts an impressive distribution network, with 250 million daily active users and 600 million monthly active users across the X and Grok apps. Every user can see an "Ask Grok" button next to every post on the platform.
It's easy to foresee that xAI will integrate multiple services into a single application in the future, such as real-time market predictions, shopping, banking, and dating—all powered by Grok.
Today, most model labs are valued based on GPUs, smart benchmarks, and reputation. xAI has all of these and has the potential to penetrate multiple different internet monopolies—and let's not forget their stated goal is to become the "universal app."
Today, the X platform's algorithm is powered by Grok—it analyzes each post to make recommendations. Tomorrow, it will provide personalized intelligent services to every user.
Clearly, Grok is far more than a standard large language model, and its valuation should reflect this.
Advantages of Physics AI
It should be no surprise that robotics will play a significant role in driving global progress over the next five years. Technology has finally become intelligent enough.
From manual labor in factories to "last mile" delivery, fast food chains, and even elite surgeons—all will be assisted by robots, or even completely replaced.
The advancements once confined to viral videos are now emerging from the laboratory, self-driving car fleets are beginning to appear, and astonishing humanoid robots are on the verge of being commercialized. However, after decades of development, when these two aspects are combined, only one company comes to mind—Tesla.
A car with driving skills superior to humans is no longer a fantasy; the latest v14.2.2.3 update is technically better at driving than you. Once regulations catch up—you'll see self-driving Teslas carrying people around. Similarly, the vision of humanoid robots is becoming a reality; Elon Musk says Optimus will begin shipping to the public by the end of next year.
So, what does all of this have to do with xAI?
Grok needs diverse data sources to understand the world around it, and this data will come from Tesla's robots.
Driving these machines requires a multimodal brain, and in Tesla's case, that would be Grok.
This symbiotic relationship between the two companies gives xAI an almost unfair advantage over its competitors. I believe Google is the only company that can compete at this level, thanks to Waymo, but they are still lagging behind.
Grok is now integrated into Tesla vehicles—with the latest update, you can even ask Grok to command FSD to take you to your destination…while playing music for you…and teaching you Roman history.
Musk's grand strategy must be acknowledged. He's not just trying to build a large language model; he's trying to build the entire ecosystem upon which AI depends for survival and operation.
Even as I write this, I admit it all sounds amazing, but also incredibly ambitious… which leads to the final part of this article…
Yes, there are risks.
Of course, risks are everywhere. Perhaps the limit of a person's energy is operating five companies at the same time, and the sixth is the tipping point... But Musk has silenced the doubters too many times, and this past credibility deserves our patience.
After all, what he accomplished was extraordinary.
Nevertheless, in my view, there are three main risks:
King of Controversy : Listen, Elon Musk is a headline-maker. He's currently embroiled in a $130 billion lawsuit against OpenAI, is under investigation by EU and Indian regulators, and his relationship with President Trump is often… complicated.
Execution risks : xAI costs approximately $1 billion per month—a huge bill. Elon is also just one person, simultaneously managing (at least) five other companies.
The Expansion Theorem states that xAI has placed all its bets on the formula "more computing power = better model," but this formula could be overturned if a superior model training architecture is discovered. (Andrej Karpathy has repeatedly stated that he believes large language models are not the final form.)
That concludes my reflections. Ultimately, I believe that the current skepticism surrounding xAI's breakthroughs in intelligence may overlook the fact that it is reshaping the rules of competition at an astonishing pace. This company embodies not only algorithms and computing power, but also a grand ambition to break free from the constraints of the physical world.
Perhaps we should all set aside our prejudices for now and focus on this ongoing AI revolution driven by infrastructure restructuring. Because true disruption often begins in the most underestimated corners.
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