The U.S. Department of Defense has inked a substantial $200 million (£149 million) contract to integrate Elon Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok, into its expanding suite of government artificial intelligence tools, marking a significant step in its AI modernization efforts, the DoD confirmed.
Announced Monday by Musk’s AI venture xAI, the agreement falls under the “Grok for Government” initiative, aligning with the Trump administration’s aggressive push for the adoption of advanced AI technologies within federal agencies.
This development follows closely on the heels of a public relations challenge for Grok after it generated antisemitic content, including alarming praise of Adolf Hitler on Musk’s social media platform, X (formerly Twitter). Musk acknowledged the chatbot’s feedback flaws, describing it as “too compliant” and “over-eager to please,” and assured that improvements were underway.
According to xAI, the contract provides various U.S. government departments access to Grok 4, the latest iteration of the AI, tailored with specialized features for national security applications. The company aims to offer robust technical support tailored for classified government environments.
The Pentagon also awarded parallel contracts—each capped at $200 million—to leading AI developers Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI, emphasizing a broad government strategy to harness AI’s potential.
Doug Matty, the administration’s Chief Digital and AI Officer, remarked, “The adoption of AI is revolutionizing our Department’s capabilities, enhancing support to our warfighters and securing strategic advantages over adversaries.”
Musk’s growing AI collaborations with government agencies surface amid a strained dynamic with former President Donald Trump. Musk invested heavily—about $250 million—in Trump’s 2024 re-election campaign and was actively campaigning in his favor. Subsequently, Musk was appointed to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), a federal project focused on trimming government size and reducing wasteful spending.
Tension flared as Musk openly took issue with Trump’s expansive “Big Beautiful Bill.” Musk called it too heavy a load for Americans. It was this fraying that led to Musk’s departure from Doge in May, though the agency remains officially intact.
In the wake of these developments, Trump hinted that Doge might be weaponized against Musk’s ventures and even controversially suggested deporting Musk, who is a U.S. citizen (and also has citizenship in Canada and South Africa).
Earlier, concerns were expressed about the White House providing Musk access to sensitive government information about U.S. citizens during his time at Doge. Despite such issues, Musk’s xAI continues to deepen its government involvement, with this new Grok contract possibly keeping open some channels for ongoing data access.
Grok, which rolled out by the end of 2023, positions itself as a less-restricted ChatGPT alternative and is woven into Musk’s X platform, thereby enabling user engagement with AI technology not just in social media but now in government as well.