GPT-5.6: Sol, Terra, Luna — By Invitation Only

On June 26 OpenAI previewed the GPT-5.6 family:

• Sol — the flagship at $5/$30 per M tokens, with a "max reasoning effort" and a multi-subagent ultra mode; Sol Ultra posts 91.9% on Terminal-Bench 2.1
• Terra — GPT-5.5-class performance at half the price ($2.50/$15)
• Luna — the fast/cheap tier ($1/$6)

Gains land in coding, science, computer use, and cybersecurity.

#The guest list

The twist: at the administration's request, initial access is limited to ~20 government-approved organizations for cybersecurity review — the first major release shipped through the June 2 executive order's 30-day vetting framework. Having watched what happened to Anthropic, OpenAI apparently decided the ban works better as a pre-order.

GA is promised "in coming weeks"; prediction markets say mid-July.

Sam Altman, characteristically unbothered by the gating:

"obviously the best model we have ever produced, but also one of the best blog posts we have ever produced."

Sources:

• @sama on the launch

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Summary

• GPT-5.6 family previewed June 26: Sol ($5/$30, ultra mode, 91.9% Terminal-Bench 2.1), Terra ($2.50/$15), Luna ($1/$6).
• Initial access gated to ~20 government-vetted organizations for cyber review — the first launch through the EO framework.
• GA "in coming weeks"; prediction markets point to mid-July.