--- title: "xAI Employees Say Elon Musk Promised Them $420 to Feed Their Taxes Into Grok, But Stiffed Them on the Payment" description: "Employees at Elon Musk's xAI were reportedly promised $420 if they fed their taxes into Grok, but they still haven't gotten their money." date: "2026-05-20" modified: "2026-05-20" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/future-society/xai-employees-elon-musk-promised-420" categories: - "Future Society" --- # xAI Employees Say Elon Musk Promised Them $420 to Feed Their Taxes Into Grok, But Stiffed Them on the Payment ![Elon Musk is holding a wine glass filled with red wine, looking to his left. The background is blurred and stylized with a bright pink and black color scheme.]() *Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images* We've [long known]() that internet memelord Elon Musk is a big fan of 420. Well, he also [reportedly really loves ketamine](), but we're talking about the dumb meme number, and not necessarily his [alleged drug habits](). And while anyone who willingly works under the guy may well share his juvenile sense of humor, something tells us that xAI employees no longer find their boss's obsession with the weed number all that funny. *Bloomberg* [reports]() that Musk's AI company promised to pay workers $420 if they fed their tax returns into the company's chatbot [Grok](), but that two months later, he still hasn't paid them the money he owes. Let [that one sink in](), chumps! Musk's incredible act of stiffing his loyal grunts came as the company was seeking to beef up Grok's tax capabilities ahead of this year's tax day as more people turn to chatbots to help make nice with the IRS. Managers at the company came up with an ingenious scheme: tax filings and other relevant documents in exchange for cold, hard cash — plus early access to X Money, Musk's creatively named payments platform. But why stop at employees? The plan was extended to employees' family and friends who used an accountant to prepare their taxes, according to *Bloomberg* — and they, too, were promised money. Much like a dud edible that never kicked in after hours of waiting, the $420 payments still haven't materialized. And it sounds like xAI is giving its employees the ol' run around: some employees who asked about where their money was were told that the manager in charge of the scheme no longer worked there, per the reporting. Of course, those payments could eventually come through, but it's not a great look at a company [where morale is already running low]() after Musk [announced sweeping layoffs]() and forced out some of its cofounders. It's not the only instance of a tech company trying to plunder its own company for training data and backfiring. At Meta, [employees have revolted]() against a new initiative to closely track their mouse movements, keyboard strokes, and record their screens, and use that data to train its AI models. **More on Elon Musk:** [*Elon Musk Absolutely Obsessed With Tweets From Random Guy In India Who Constantly Glazes Him, Analysis Shows*]() ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()