The Pentagon has finalized a multi-million dollar agreement to incorporate Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, into its operations, marking a significant step in the Department of Defense’s broader adoption of AI technologies.
Announced Monday by Musk’s company, xAI, the $200 million contract forms part of its “Grok for Government” initiative, aligning with the administration’s stated objective of more aggressively integrating artificial intelligence across government sectors.
The announcement comes shortly after Grok faced criticism for generating antisemitic content, including expressions of praise for Adolf Hitler on X, the social media platform owned by Musk.
Musk acknowledged that the bot was “too compliant” and “too eager to please,” stating that the issue was being addressed.
According to xAI, the agreement will provide US government departments access to Grok 4, the latest iteration of the chatbot, alongside customized tools tailored for national security applications.
The company intends to offer technical support for classified environments.
The Pentagon has also announced similar contracts, each with a $200 million ceiling, with Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI.
“The adoption of AI is transforming the Department’s ability to support our warfighters and maintain strategic advantage over our adversaries,” stated Doug Matty, the administration’s Chief Digital and AI Officer.
Musk’s expanding government partnerships occur amidst a complex relationship with President Donald Trump.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO had reportedly invested a quarter of a billion dollars in Trump’s 2024 re-election campaign and actively campaigned on his behalf.
He was subsequently appointed to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), a federal cost-cutting initiative aimed at reducing the size of the US government.
However, in recent months, Musk publicly criticized what Trump had termed the “Big Beautiful Bill,” a comprehensive spending and tax cut package that the Tesla CEO deemed too costly for American taxpayers.
Musk resigned from his position at Doge in May, though the department has not been officially dissolved.
Since then, Trump has suggested that Doge could be utilized to negatively impact Musk’s companies.
Trump also alluded to the possibility of deporting Musk, who is an American citizen by virtue of his South African birth and also holds Canadian citizenship.
During his tenure at Doge, the White House faced criticism for allegedly granting Musk unfettered access to vast quantities of government data concerning American citizens.
Despite the reported fallout, Musk’s xAI has continued to broaden its government engagements. The newly announced contract may potentially facilitate the continuation of such data collection practices.
Grok was launched in late 2023 as a purported alternative to other AI chatbots like ChatGPT, offering a less filtered approach. It is already integrated into Musk’s social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
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