Elon Musk has been busy. Very busy. If you woke up and checked your feed, you probably saw two massive waves of news coming off the back of his latest activity. First, there’s a radical shift in how you’ll actually own—or rather, not own—a Tesla. Second, he’s finally broken his silence on the massive Grok AI deepfake scandal that has everyone from the UK Prime Minister to the California Attorney General breathing down his neck.
It’s a lot to take in for a Wednesday.
The End of "Owning" Tesla FSD
Basically, the era of paying a fat one-time fee for Full Self-Driving (FSD) is dead. Musk confirmed in an Elon Musk X post today that Tesla will stop selling FSD as a permanent purchase after February 14, 2026. Happy Valentine’s Day, right? After that, it’s subscription-only. No more $8,000 or $12,000 upfront "investments."
This is a huge pivot. For years, Musk pitched FSD as an "appreciating asset." He once said these cars would be worth $100,000 or more because they could act as robotaxis. By moving to a subscription-only model, Tesla is essentially admitting FSD is a service, not a piece of hardware you keep. Honestly, it’s a smart business move to hit those recurring revenue targets, but if you were planning on "locking in" the value of your car by buying the software outright, that door is slamming shut in exactly one month.
Musk Denies Grok Misconduct: "Literally Zero"
While the Tesla news is about the bottom line, the Grok news is about the law. For the past week, X has been a mess of controversy over Grok’s "spicy mode" being used to create nonconsensual explicit images. It got dark. Real dark. We're talking about reports of AI-generated images of minors and women being shared across the platform.
👉 See also: Finding Your Gmail Spam Folder: Why It’s Not Where You Think It Is
Musk finally weighed in today. He posted: “I [am] not aware of any naked underage images generated by Grok. Literally zero.”
He’s doubling down on the idea that Grok is programmed to follow the law and only does what users tell it to do. But governments aren’t buying the "it’s just a tool" excuse. California AG Rob Bonta just opened a probe. The UK’s Ofcom is already deep into an investigation. Even Keir Starmer, the UK Prime Minister, called the generated images "disgusting" in the House of Commons this morning.
Musk's stance is simple: if there’s a "bug" that allows for illegal content, they fix it immediately. But critics, like Technology Secretary Liz Kendall, say that paywalling the tool instead of fixing the underlying safety issues is just "monetising the abuse."
Why the @twitter Account is Dark
In a weird side note that has purists mourning, the official @twitter handle has finally gone dark. It was suspended earlier this week, likely as the final step in Musk's total scrub of the old brand. It’s a bit of a "burn the boats" moment. He’s made it clear that X is the future, even if everyone else still calls it Twitter out of habit.
What This Means for You
If you're a Tesla owner or an X user, today’s posts change the math on how you interact with these platforms.
- Tesla Owners: If you want to own FSD forever, you have until Feb 14. After that, you're on the hook for $99 a month (or whatever the regional price is) for as long as you want the features.
- X Users: Grok is getting more restricted. Don't be surprised if image generation features get nerfed or hidden behind even higher paywalls as the legal heat from France, Indonesia, and the US intensifies.
- Investors: Keep an eye on those 10 million FSD subscription milestones. Musk’s 2025 performance award depends on them, which explains why he’s forcing everyone into the subscription model.
You've got to admit, the man knows how to keep the world talking. Whether it's turning a car into a monthly bill or fighting with world leaders over AI ethics, the updates from the Elon Musk X post today show a CEO who is clearly feeling the pressure to monetize and defend his ecosystem simultaneously.
Your Next Steps:
Check your Tesla account settings before the February 14 deadline if you’ve been on the fence about the upfront FSD purchase. If you use Grok for creative work, review the updated Terms of Service, as X is actively logging "adversarial prompts" to comply with the new UK and California investigations.