How to use Grok: free setup, 15 prompts, and Grok on X and in a Tesla

Grok runs in five places, and they are not equal

As of October 2026, Grok runs in five places: grok.com, the iOS app, the Android app, X and Tesla cars. They aren't the same product. The Grok FAQ says grok.com takes about 100 files in one upload while Android takes 20, and that Companions exist only on iOS. A Tesla needs no Grok account at all.

Sources for each row are xAI's FAQ, the X Help Center and Tesla's US Grok support page, all read in October 2026. The company behind Grok now signs its legal pages SpaceXAI LLC, though grok.com and x.ai haven't moved. Start on grok.com if you work with documents. It takes five times as many files per upload as Android, and your history syncs to the apps anyway. xAI's Grok page lists "Web, iOS, and Android" with synced history.

How do you start using Grok?

You start by opening grok.com or installing the app, then signing in. The whole thing takes about a minute, and you don't need an X account. xAI's FAQ lists Apple, Google, email and X as sign-in methods, and you can add or remove them later at accounts.x.ai. If you do want your X account linked, it's under Settings, then Account, on grok.com.

The iOS app is sold by X Corp. As of October 2026 it's rated 4.9 out of 5 from 1.5 million ratings on the App Store, with a 16+ age rating. xAI's consumer FAQ says Grok isn't meant for anyone under 13, and that users aged 13 to 17 need a parent's permission. The App Store listing also describes a context transfer that moves conversations in from ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. That's useful if you're switching rather than adding.

Do one thing before your first real chat. Decide whether your conversations can train the model. On grok.com it's Settings, then Data, then Improve the Model. In the app it's Settings, then Data Controls. Feedback you choose to send can still be used, opt out or not.

Once you're in, switch modes from the chat box. xAI's Grok page lists modes for search, reasoning, voice and images, so one thread can hold a live search, a step-by-step answer, a spoken conversation and a picture. Voice mode lets you talk instead of type. Multi-agent mode, where several agents work on a hard question at once and each shows its reasoning, comes with the paid plans.

Can you use Grok for free?

Yes. The free plan gives "daily access to Grok" in xAI's words, and xAI's pricing page describes it as "Limited Chat requests". It doesn't say how many. Neither does any other xAI page we read in October 2026. The paid plans are priced in dollars but sized only as multiples of the cheapest one.

Those four plans arrived on 12 October 2026 as The X Subscription, which bundles Grok, Grok Bot, the Cursor coding tool and X Premium into one bill. Usage refreshes weekly. One pool covers Chat, Imagine, Voice and Build, and xAI's FAQ says each product draws on it at a different rate. People who already pay for SuperGrok or X Premium keep their plan unless they choose to switch.

When the pool runs out, paid features pause. Free Chat and Voice keep working. You can wait for the weekly reset, upgrade, or buy Extra Usage Credits, which start at $5 on the web and expire a year after purchase. Settings, then Usage, shows when your reset is due.

How to write prompts Grok answers well

A good Grok prompt names the task, the context, the time window and the format. The time window is the part people skip. Grok searches the web and X live, and "what's new" means nothing to a search engine. "Posts from the last 24 hours" does.

Task. One verb: summarize, compare, draft, explain, check. Context. Who it's for and what you already know. Time and source. "Since Monday", "only posts from verified news accounts", "link every post you quote". Format. A table, five bullets, a 100 word answer.

Copy-paste skeleton: Your task is to [verb] [subject]. Context: [audience, what I know already]. Search: [time window] on [X, the web, or both], and link every post or page you rely on. Format: [table/bullets/short answer]. Mark anything that is unconfirmed.

That last line matters more on Grok than elsewhere. Live posts include rumors, and Grok will repeat one if you don't ask it to separate what's confirmed. Ask for links, then open two of them. Prompt engineering for beginners covers the general technique.

15 Grok prompts to copy

Replace the brackets and keep the ones that earn their place. They lean on what Grok does that most assistants can't: read X as it happens.

Live news and X

1. What are people on X saying about [topic] in the last 24 hours? Group the posts into the three main positions, link two posts for each, and tell me which claims are unconfirmed.
2. Summarize what happened with [event] since [day]. Give a timeline with times, link the source for each line, and stop at what is known now.
3. Find the original post behind this claim: [paste]. Who posted it first, when, and has anyone credible disputed it? Link everything.
4. Explain this post to someone who has not followed the story. Give the background in five sentences and link the earlier posts it replies to. Post: [paste link].

Research and documents

1. Read the attached PDF. List the five points that matter most, quote the exact line for each, and flag anything that would cost me money or commit me to something.
2. Compare these two files and give me a table of every place they disagree, with the wording from each.
3. Search the web for the current price and plan limits of [product]. Use only the vendor's own pages, link each one, and give the date each page shows.
4. I am deciding between [options]. Score them on cost, risk and how easy each is to undo, then argue against your own pick.

Writing

1. Rewrite this so it sounds like a person wrote it. Keep every fact. No filler openers. Under 150 words. Draft: [paste].
2. Write five replies to this post, from friendly to firm. Each under 280 characters. Post: [paste].
3. Tell me the three weakest sentences in this draft and why. Do not rewrite them. Draft: [paste].

Imagine

1. A product photo of [object] on a black plinth, soft white rim light, charcoal background, shot from slightly above.
2. Animate this photo: the camera slowly pushes in while [subject] turns toward the light. Keep it under ten seconds.

Everyday and voice

1. I have [time] a day for four weeks to learn [skill]. Build a plan with daily practice and one small finished project at the end.
2. Quiz me out loud on [topic], one question at a time. Wait for my answer, then tell me what I got wrong. (Use this one in Voice mode.)

How do you use Grok on X?

On X, Grok sits behind its own icon. The X Help Center says to select the Grok icon in the navigation bar of the X app or website, then type or pick a suggestion. It works on iOS, Android and the web wherever X is available.

The more useful trick is on posts. X's Help Center says you can tap the Grok icon on any post to get an analysis, a summary or background facts about that post. Use it on a thread you walked into halfway. It's faster than scrolling back to the start.

If Grok misbehaves inside X, go to X for help, not xAI. xAI's FAQ says it provides Grok in X but "does not have operational oversight of X's service", and it sends those questions to X's Help Center or @premium on X. Linking your X account to grok.com lets xAI read your X subscription status and grant the matching benefits.

How do you use Grok Imagine for images and video?

Imagine makes images and short videos from a text prompt or a photo you upload. xAI's Grok page puts video at "up to 15 seconds at 720p". The App Store listing adds short videos with sound, and image edits such as removing an object or changing the background.

Three limits shape how you use it. Every image and video carries a watermark that you can't remove (xAI's FAQ). Once you pass your plan's 720p allowance, video drops to 480p. And 1080p video is listed only on the $100 Super plan and above, as of October 2026.

Write Imagine prompts like a photographer would: the object, the light, the background and the camera angle. For video, say what moves and how long it should run. Imagine draws on the same weekly pool as chat, so a batch of videos can leave less room for text that week.

How do you use Grok in a Tesla?

In a Tesla you just talk to it, but the car has to qualify first. Tesla's Grok support page, in its October 2026 US version, lists an AMD processor, vehicle software 2025.26 or later, and either Premium Connectivity or a Wi-Fi connection. You'll find the processor under Controls, then Software, then Additional Vehicle Information.

To start Grok, tap the App Launcher, then Grok, or press and hold the microphone button on the steering wheel. You can also say "Hey Grok" once you turn on voice activation under Controls, then Audio, then Grok Settings.

You don't need a Grok account or a subscription for the basic assistant, at least for now. Tesla says that can change. Connectors and Grok Bot are different: they need software 2026.26 or later and a signed-in Grok account, and Grok Bot also needs a SuperGrok subscription. Connectors link Grok to Gmail, Google Calendar, Outlook and Google Drive, so you can ask about your inbox while you drive.

This is a big surface for xAI. Its Voice 3.0 announcement of 14 October 2026 says Grok "handles millions of conversations a day in Tesla vehicles."

How do you keep your Grok chats private?

Grok has a Private Chat mode, and you turn it on with the ghost icon in the top right corner. xAI's consumer FAQ says those chats won't show in your history and are deleted from its systems within 30 days. The exception is anything it has to keep for safety, security or legal reasons.

For ordinary chats, delete one with the trash button next to it on grok.com, or press and hold it in the app. To clear everything in the app, go to Settings, then Data Controls, then Delete All Conversations. Files live separately at grok.com/files, and you delete those there. xAI says a deletion can take up to 30 days to clear its systems.

One catch if you skip signing in: xAI says that in some regions, outside the EU and UK, a logged-out user can't opt out of model training. Sign in first if that matters to you.

When is another model the better tool?

Grok wins when the answer depends on what's happening on X right now, and when you're in a Tesla. It's the one assistant built into both. For a long document or a draft that has to sound like you, it's worth testing the same prompt elsewhere. Grok vs ChatGPT and Grok vs Claude run those comparisons task by task.

Running the same prompt through two assistants usually means two accounts and two bills. Whizi's Pro plan puts Grok next to Claude and GPT in one chat history, so you can ask Grok first and then Claude without a second subscription. Using Grok in Whizi shows how. It's the wrong choice if you want Grok on X, Imagine video or the Tesla assistant, which only xAI and Tesla provide.