Billionaire Elon Musk has unequivocally stated that none of his companies will ever create a cryptocurrency token, a significant departure from his previous involvement in the crypto space.
Musk’s proclamation comes on the heels of misleading reports and promotional efforts that falsely associated him with a fake crypto token called Xai Corp (XAI).
It all started when Musk announced on Friday that his AI company, xAI, would be debuting its technology. In a tweet on the social media platform X, Musk revealed that xAI was set to release its first AI to a select group. The startup, which Musk founded with the mission to understand the true nature of the universe, appeared to be venturing into the realm of AI technologies that compete with companies like OpenAI and Google.
Team members behind xAI boasted impressive backgrounds, including alumni of DeepMind, OpenAI, Google Research, Microsoft Research, Twitter, and Tesla, who have worked on prominent AI projects. Musk’s vision for a new AI tool, “TruthGPT,” was also shared, focusing on challenging existing AI systems that prioritize being “politically correct.”
The association between Musk and the XAI CORP token emerged after the token was created within the last 24 hours and began gaining attention from media outlets. “InsideBitcoins” was among the outlets promoting the token, publishing a post with the headline, “Xai Corp Price Prediction: XAI Rockets 175% On Elon Musk Tweet, While This New Meme Coin Star Might 20X.”
However, Elon Musk was quick to disassociate himself from the token.
“To be super clear, none of my companies will ever create a crypto token,” said Elon Musk, replying to a tweet from ‘Doge Designer’, a popular graphic designer at Dogecoin who emphasized the lack of connection between Musk and the crypto token.
That said, this incident raises questions about Musk’s stance on cryptocurrencies. In the past, Musk had played a significant role in influencing the prices of cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin, and some crypto projects had even adopted his name to capitalize on his immense following. However, Musk has grown increasingly cautious, given that most crypto projects lack value and are primarily aimed at exploiting unsuspecting investors.
This caution was notably reinforced by a lawsuit against Musk by Dogecoin investors in June. They accused Musk of insider trading and manipulating the Dogecoin market to the detriment of investors, leading to substantial financial losses. The lawsuit claimed that Musk used Twitter posts, paid online influencers, and various publicity tactics to trade profitably at the expense of investors, among other allegations.
Meanwhile, following Musk’s proclamation, InsideBitcoins’s Twitter page appeared to have been suspended. It is also not clear if the page will be reinstated.
