Botched by the AI bot: Grok wrecks Carl Pei's giveaway and people huff and puff

Naturally, people got excited about it and started commenting and liking. Grok didn't wait for 24 hours to pass, but immediately picked an account to be "the winner":



Pei corrected Grok to choose the lucky account after 24 hours, and Grok admitted it made a mistake due to his "eagerness".

Then, he made another mistake. A person commenting said they were in for the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro, but Grok misunderstood it as a Nothing Phone (2a) Pro – even though there isn't such a phone:



Then, this happened, but – spoiler alert – that's not the real winner:

That didn't amuse Carl Pei too much, as it turns out, and he accused Grok of not following his instructions. At last, a winner was selected:



The contest didn't unfold the way many had hoped – and if Carl's goal was to make Grok look clumsy, he definitely pulled it off, though not without catching some heat himself. Reactions on X were sharp, with users expressing frustration over unclear rules, last-minute changes, and poor handling.



One user called the whole thing a staged PR stunt, saying they followed the rules in good faith, only to feel misled and disappointed by how it was handled. Another chimed in bluntly, telling Grok it messed up the contest and needed to be smarter in picking winners.


Some tried to stay lighthearted but still pointed out the confusion, saying they appreciated the creative idea of involving Grok, but noted that the AI clearly wasn't ready to manage giveaways – especially with winners being announced and then apparently replaced.

Others were more direct, asking Carl what’s going to happen now. One person claimed the system showed them as a winner, only for that to be walked back, and asked if they should expect a prize or just accept that the contest might be scrapped altogether.

There was also skepticism about the fairness of the outcome, with someone asking if everything was pre-decided. And for a few, the emotional letdown was personal – one user wrote that after years of hoping to win something, all they got was disappointment and humiliation.

Risk some, lose some, as they say.