Because Grok 4.7 is such a token-hungry model, they had no choice but to switch Grok Bot to cheaper alternatives. But they needed a convincing justification to cover up this downgrade, so they announced that Opus 5.5 would handle the most challenging tasks.
As a result, people only noticed Opus 5.5, completely overlooking the possibility that Haiku 5.5, or even smaller models, might actually be handling a large volume of tasks with questionable reliability.
That said, this round of marketing has undoubtedly been very effective. Given X's long-standing tendency to amplify rumors and misinformation, pushing the narrative that Grok Bot is powered exclusively by Opus 5.5 is certainly a great way to generate attention and engagement.