xAI Seizes Dot.com Domain Following OpenAI's 'Dots' Launch
AI-generated image · US National Wire
Elon Musk's AI venture has redirected a key domain to the Grok chatbot app, sparking theories of a calculated move against OpenAI.
OpenAI recently debuted "Dots," an always-on AI agent featuring a blobby avatar. However, as TechCrunch reports, the domain "dot.com" is owned by Elon Musk's xAI and currently redirects users to the download page for the Grok chatbot app.
According to the Whois domain owner registry, the domain was transferred in July. While the acquisition could be a standard move to capture mistyped searches—noting that "dot" is a common typo for "bot"—TechCrunch notes that xAI does not own "bot.com" or other similar typo domains such as "vot.com."
Online speculation suggests the move was a targeted prank. An anonymous X user and xAI watcher known as @birdabo, who identifies as the "chief shitposting officer @SpaceXAI," was the first to highlight the redirect in a viral post.
While xAI has secured "dot.com," TechCrunch reports that the more direct "dots.com" domain currently belongs to a company that is long-defunct.