Researchers Put GPT, Claude and Grok Behind the Wheel of a Real Corolla — Only One Succeeded
nordicinst · x · 2026-10-08
WIRED reports that three engineers at startup Axiom hooked GPT-6 Astra, Claude, and Grok up to a 2024 Toyota Corolla, asking the general-purpose models to drive to an In-N-Out drive-thru with no task-specific training — a chat interface linked to windscreen cameras and power steering, with a safety driver ready to brake.
Only one of the three models made it to the pickup window. Unlike purpose-built self-driving stacks, the stunt shows language models gaining a rudimentary, usable understanding of the physical world on the fly — though the team admits putting a general model in charge of a two-ton car is high-stakes.
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