- Agreement Terms
- Behind-The-Scenes Details and Deal Significance
- Elon Musk’s Ambiguous Reaction
- Why the Deal Fell Through
- Market Response
At the end of May 2025, the tech and crypto communities were abuzz with reports of a strategic partnership between messaging app Telegram and xAI, the AI company founded by Elon Musk. The deal centered around integrating Grok, xAI’s advanced AI chatbot, into the Telegram ecosystem — along with significant financial backing and a new monetization model for the platform.
However, despite the headline-grabbing announcement, the situation turned out to be more complicated, sparking heated debate and a volatile market reaction — especially around the TON token.
Agreement Terms
On May 28, 2025, Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced a one-year partnership agreement with xAI. The main highlights:
1. Telegram would receive $300 million in cash and xAI equity.
2. The messenger would earn 50% of subscription revenue from xAI products sold through Telegram.
3. Telegram users would gain access to Grok and other AI tools from xAI.
4. The partnership was set for one year, with the option to extend.
Durov emphasized that integrating Grok would give Telegram’s over 1 billion users access to one of the most advanced AI technologies available. Promotional materials highlighted that Grok would be accessible via the Telegram search bar, capable of summarizing long messages, assisting in chat moderation, and even serving as a smart assistant for Telegram mini-apps.
Behind-The-Scenes Details and Deal Significance
This potential partnership between Telegram and xAI would have been one of the biggest tech collaborations in recent years. Beyond the direct investment from xAI, Telegram hoped to significantly boost its revenue through AI service subscriptions — a key move toward long-awaited profitability, especially in light of its recent $1.5 billion bond issuance, which drew interest from major institutional investors.
Integrating Grok into Telegram would open new doors for the platform’s growth. Users could:
– Ask AI questions directly through Telegram’s search bar
– Receive AI-generated summaries of long messages and documents
– Automate and moderate group chats using AI
– Access new text tools for content generation and stylistic editing
For xAI, the deal would dramatically expand Grok’s audience beyond X (formerly Twitter), tapping into Telegram’s massive global user base.
Elon Musk’s Ambiguous Reaction
Despite Durov’s public announcement, just hours later Elon Musk denied that a final agreement had been signed. Posting on X, Musk wrote: “The Telegram and xAI deal was not signed.”
This instantly triggered a market correction, with TON’s price falling from $3.60 to $3.40.
Later, Durov clarified that while both sides had reached a “principle agreement,” the formal legal paperwork hadn’t been completed. So, as of publication, no official contract existed — although negotiations were still underway, and both parties remained interested in moving forward.
Why the Deal Fell Through
1. No Formal Agreement
The main, officially acknowledged reason was the absence of a signed legal contract. While public statements and verbal agreements had been made, the final terms hadn’t been legally formalized — meaning the partnership couldn’t proceed.
2. Different Interpretations of the Agreement Status
The public back-and-forth between Durov and Musk revealed a mismatch in how both parties viewed the deal’s progress. For Durov, a principle agreement was enough to announce publicly, while Musk insisted on having all official documents signed before making any announcements.
3. Potential Disagreements on Terms
Though no specifics have been disclosed, deals of this scale often stumble over disagreements about financial terms, data control, technology integration, or regulatory compliance across different jurisdictions.
4. Reputational and Strategic Risks
A partnership of this size carries substantial reputational and strategic risks for both companies. It’s possible that after the public announcement, one side reconsidered or demanded additional assurances before moving forward.
Market Response
Following the initial announcement, Toncoin (TON) — closely tied to Telegram’s ecosystem — surged 17–23% within hours, hitting a local high of $3.70. Trading volumes also spiked, showing intense investor and trader interest in the potential alliance.
However, after Musk’s denial, TON’s price sharply dropped, erasing much of the gains from the earlier announcement. This rollercoaster highlighted just how sensitive the market is to news involving major tech partnerships — and the critical importance of clear, coordinated communication between companies when dealing with high-stakes collaborations.