Durov wrote that he and Musk “agreed to a one-year partnership” that would place Grok inside all Telegram applications and give the chat platform “$300 million in cash and equity,” plus half of every Grok subscription sold through Telegram.
Neither party disclosed a target date for completing the final paperwork or launching the project.
Telegram carries more than $1 billion in debt linked to bond issues it floated in 2021 and 2023 to fund operations.
Durov, who has long financed the company through personal loans, seeks new income streams before a bond maturity next year.
Under the draft terms, xAI would wire $300 million to Telegram and place an equity stake that both companies declined to quantify. Telegram would also receive a recurring share of Grok fees collected through its in-app purchase channels.
A Telegram integration would give Grok an immediate reach larger than X’s roughly 600 million registered accounts.
Musk’s statement on the unsigned contract arrived as he exited his temporary seat at the US Department of Government Efficiency, known internally as DOGE.
Musk filled the designation of “special government employee,” which allows him to work a federal job for 130 days each year. Considering Trump’s first day at the White House on January 20, the designation would expire at the end of May.
