Windows 11 has picked up a fair bit of ire, and for understandable reasons. In the last year alone, we've seen reports of undeletable caches and some SSDs not playing nice with the software. Well, if you want a "purely AI" alternative from the man who ruined Twitter, Elon Musk has a bridge to sell you just announced Macrohard. Yeah, I don't think it's a good name either.
As announced via Elon Musk's X account, "It’s a tongue-in-cheek name, but the project is very real!" He goes on to state, "given that software companies like Microsoft do not themselves manufacture any physical hardware, it should be possible to simulate them entirely with AI."
By this, Elon Musk seems to be referring to the fact that Microsoft aren't physically building the components used in Xbox devices or its range of Surface laptops. However, many manufacturers don't manufacture every part to get tech out of the door. Microsoft may rely on AMD to make chips, but AMD rely on TSMC to make semiconductors.
Musk also doesn't elaborate on why that element would mean that AI is more capable of simulating Microsoft's business. Especially as Microsoft itself is not afraid of using AI, within and without.
Microsoft offers a specific grouping of software, in the likes of Windows, but also the Microsoft Office suite. Offering a broad 'AI solution' to this feels like it misses the point of why Microsoft is so successful.
Join @xAI and help build a purely AI software company called Macrohard. It’s a tongue-in-cheek name, but the project is very real!In principle, given that software companies like Microsoft do not themselves manufacture any physical hardware, it should be possible to simulate…August 22, 2025
This is before mentioning that the likes of LibreOffice is already a decent alternative to Office, if you don't want to use online alternatives like Google Docs or Google Sheets. As far as Windows is concerned, you could swap over to Linux or macOS for an alternative, but, for its problems, Windows does seem to be the most intuitive and widely adopted OS on the market right now.
When asked what specific services Macrohard will be offering, X's chatbot Grok gave a commenter the following examples:
- "AI agents collaborating to develop apps, e.g., an AI 'team' creating a productivity tool from idea to deployment.
- Generating custom software: Agents for image/video editing tools or workflow automations.
- Simulating business functions: AI 'employees' handling marketing, testing, and updates."
Notably, none of these services are the services that Microsoft seems to actually offer. Microsoft does implement Copilot into compatible machines, and does seem to sell the use of AI as an efficiency tool, but it doesn't appear to be sold as an all-inclusive tool that can generate software or create AI employees. AI does get things wrong, though Grok ending the tweet with "We're hiring to make it real! More at x.ai. (rocket emoji)!" suggests this reply is a tad more bespoke.
This is not Elon Musk's first time mentioning the phrase Macrohard. In 2021, he tweeted "Macrohard>>Microsoft." The company didn't appear to come to fruition until August 1 this year, when X.AI paid $2,300 for the trademark. Though accounts seem unable to accurately say what Macrohard will make / when or how it will actually be usable, we've already seen blue checkmark X accounts pop up, flooding the feed with AI-generated imagery and hinting at cryptocoins. Crypto sharks smell blood in the water, even though all we have so far is a name, a vague pitch, and a trademark.
This history with the name doesn't really imply much more thought has gone into it, though. Musk is known for really pushing names over ideas, and we can see this with X. Before it was PayPal, Elon Musk really wanted the banking service to be named X. Then, in 2020, he announced his son with music artist Grimes would also be named X (X Æ A-12 Musk). Finally, Twitter became X in 2023.
This is all to say that Macrohard feels like the same approach. It appears to be a general AI service and also an excuse to signal distaste for Microsoft. I didn't think I'd agree with Elon Musk, but I do at least understand that second point.
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