Elon Musk denies $300 million partnership between xAI and Telegram

• Elon Musk denies agreement with Telegram over AI Grok
• Pavel Durov Mentions $300 Million xAI Partnership
• Toncoin fell after Musk denied the announcement

Elon Musk, CEO of xAI and Tesla, said his artificial intelligence company has not entered into any formal partnership with Telegram. The statement contradicts an announcement made by Pavel Durov, founder of the messaging app, who had announced an integration with the chatbot Grok.

No deal has been signed

- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 28, 2025

According to Durov, Telegram has reportedly reached a deal with xAI involving the integration of Grok into the platform and a revenue split from subscription sales, totaling a $300 million package in cash and stock. The announcement was made on Wednesday and generated great repercussion in the technology and cryptocurrency sector.

However, Musk quickly responded to Durov's post on Twitter, stating: "No deal has been signed." Durov himself later acknowledged Musk's statement, clarifying that the deal in question had been only verbal and was still pending official documentation to be finalized.

The impact of the statement was felt in the crypto market. Toncoin (TON), a token linked to Telegram's infrastructure, rose 18,7% to $3,55. After Musk's clarification, the asset fell to $3,35, highlighting the market's sensitivity to news involving major partnerships in the artificial intelligence and blockchain sector.

The disclosure of the alleged deal coincided with another announcement by Telegram: an attempt to raise $1,5 billion through a new bond issue. The aim is to buy back debt issued in 2021, opening the way for investors such as Citadel, BlackRock and Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund Mubadala to join.

The possible association between Telegram and xAI, not yet official, attracted attention for uniting two promising technological fronts — private messages and generative AI —, in addition to directly affecting the appreciation of Toncoin and generating expectations among investors in the crypto ecosystem.