Elon Musk responds to Sundar Pichai’s ‘Geminiii’ tweet as Google unveils Gemini 3
The brief online exchange between Pichai and Musk added an unexpected human moment to an otherwise high-stakes product launch, further fuelling conversation about the escalating race to build next-generation AI systems.
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Sundar Pichai’s post announcing the release of Google’s most advanced AI model to date, Gemini 3, has drawn widespread attention — including a brief but notable reaction from Elon Musk, chief executive of rival AI company xAI. Pichai shared the update on X, writing “Geminiii,” extending the word to subtly reference the model’s version number. Within an hour, Musk responded with a single-word reply, congratulating him, prompting immediate speculation and commentary across social media platforms.
Congrats
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 18, 2025
The exchange attracted substantial engagement, with many users remarking on the rare display of cordiality between two major players in the increasingly competitive AI sector. Some interpreted the interaction as a positive sign for the industry, while others speculated — jokingly or otherwise — about the possibility of collaboration between xAI and Google. One user suggested that Musk would eventually have to partner with Google, while another described the moment as an expression of camaraderie. Others commented on the unusual sight of competitors acknowledging each other’s progress openly.
In accompanying statements, Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai described Gemini 3 as the company’s most intelligent model to date, emphasising that it unifies the full breadth of Gemini’s capabilities. Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis stated that he regards Gemini 3 as the strongest model in the world for multimodal understanding, highlighting the technological stride represented by the release.
