Elon Musk Throws Cold Water on Telegram's xAI Partnership Claims

Hold onto your hats, folks! Telegram's hyped-up partnership with Elon Musk's xAI just hit a major speed bump. Musk himself took to the digital streets to slam the brakes, denying any finalized deal.

Just hours before, Telegram's fearless leader, Pavel Durov, dropped a bombshell, announcing what looked like a juicy $300 million deal to weave xAI's Grok chatbot into the messaging giant's fabric.

On Wednesday, Durov was all smiles, claiming the two tech titans had shaken hands "in principle" on a one-year partnership. He boasted about a $300 million cash-and-equity windfall from xAI, plus a sweet 50% cut of the subscription revenue from Grok within Telegram.

Rumors were swirling that Grok would be popping up all over Telegram's apps this summer, bringing AI wizardry like smart search, message makeovers, and content cop to the party.

Musk's rebuttal

But wait for it! In a classic Musk move, he dropped a bombshell of his own on X, straight-up denying Durov's announcement: "No deal has been signed." Ouch! Durov, caught off guard, had to backpedal faster than a unicyclist on a tightrope, admitting the agreement was still hanging in the balance, waiting on final paperwork.

This rollercoaster comes at a make-or-break moment for Telegram. They were just gearing up to raise a cool $1.5 billion through a bond sale, with big names like Citadel, BlackRock, and Mubadala ready to throw their weight behind it.

Durov had been banking on the Grok partnership to beef up Telegram's financial muscle, especially after raking in a solid $540 million in profits in 2024.

Even without a signed deal, Toncoin (TON), Telegram's crypto sidekick, went on a wild ride, spiking nearly 19% on the news before crashing back to earth after Musk's reality check.