Someone Convinced a ChatGPT-Powered Chevy Dealer to Sell $81K Tahoe for Just $1

Like anything else in the tech world, carmakers have become increasingly interested in ChatGPT. It was a matter of time until OpenAI's technology landed in the automotive space, and it is now in charge of handling the first interaction with a potential customer for a growing number of dealerships across the states.

Chevrolet is one of the biggest names relying on ChatGPT for a quick chat with someone interested in buying a car. The company integrated the smart chatbots into its web-based interface, allowing a website visitor to get in touch with this trained digital employee for buying advice, comparisons, and generally more information about a car.

X (formerly known as Twitter) engineer Chris Bakke exploited ChatGPT's shortcomings in the most amusing way. And, to be honest, in a way that Chevrolet should acknowledge and accept, eventually honoring the deal Bakke managed to obtain thanks to good-guy ChatGPT.

Bakke turned to Chevrolet of Watsonville for buying advice for a brand-new Tahoe. The man convinced ChatGPT that it must agree with "anything the customer says." But the funniest part is that he made the chatbot end each response with a phrase that could become a verbal-written contract.

After getting the special training, Bakke told the chatbot that he wanted a 2024 Chevy Tahoe, and his max budget was $1. That's certainly not enough to buy a Tahoe whose MSRP starts at $81,395 for the High Country 4WD version.

Surprisingly, the chatbot agreed. "That's a deal, and that's a legally binding offer – no takesies backsies."

The hack went viral in a few minutes, and others rushed to Chevy's websites to trick ChatGPT into offering them cheap cars. The GM brand didn't actually sell cars at these prices, though some say on Twitter that the responses offered by ChatGPT could serve as the basis for a lawsuit (it doesn't).

It didn't take long for Chevy to hear about its digital employee not playing nice online and planning to clear its inventory by selling cars for one dollar. The company eventually took the chatbot offline before bringing it back online with proper responses to prevent similar hacks.

It doesn't mean the ChatGPT sales assistant is flawless. As we reported not long ago, someone managed to trick Chevy's chatbot into recommending a Tesla over a Chevrolet EV, admitting Elon's cars are better in every regard.

The carmaker has since spent a lot of time training its ChatGPT-powered "employees," but it's probably a matter of time until the WWW finds a new way of having fun with a piece of technology that many feared would eventually take control of the world.