Grok Gets Cursor-Driven Upgrade, Claims to Be Competitive With Top Models

Thus far in its short lifespan, the AI model Grok is probably best known for being used to mass-produce non-consensual nude images and for declaring itself MechaHitler. So it’s an uphill battle to convince people to use it for coding and knowledge work. But for those heavily invested in keeping tabs on the benchmarks of AI models, the release of Grok 4.6, which was made publicly available on Wednesday, might be compelling. According to SpaceX’s xAI, the new model “achieves frontier intelligence across several agentic coding and knowledge work benchmarks.” The company also claims that Grok 4.6 matches OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 Sol on a number of benchmarks, including the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, which is a composite score of nine benchmarks. The marks are high enough for CEO Elon Musk to dig into the hyperbole playbook. On X (also owned by SpaceX), Musk claimed that Grok 4.6 is “objectively #1 when considering intelligence, speed & cost”—which doesn’t seem like the kind of thing that you’d say when the biggest brag in your announcement is that your model matched (as opposed to beat) a competitor, but it’s about in line with Musk’s typical brand of braggadocio. Grok’s return to