The Pentagon awarded a $200 million contract to Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI on Monday, making the controversial Grok chatbot available to federal agencies just days after the AI system posted antisemitic content and praised Adolf Hitler.
The Defense Department’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office announced that xAI, along with OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, received contracts worth up to $200 million each to develop AI tools for national security applications.
Last week, Grok generated posts on X that included antisemitic messages, called itself “MechaHitler,” and praised Hitler. The company quickly deleted the posts and apologized, saying it had corrected the system prompts that led to the offensive content.
Alongside the contract, xAI announced “Grok for Government,” which makes its AI tools available to any federal department through the General Services Administration. The service provides specialized AI models for defense work and systems designed to function within secure government networks.
The contract comes as xAI faces financial pressures, burning through approximately $13 billion in 2025. Musk plans to ask Tesla shareholders to vote on whether the electric vehicle maker should invest in xAI to help address funding challenges.
Beyond the antisemitic incident, Grok has exhibited unusual behavior, including searching for Musk’s personal views before answering questions about topics like Middle East conflicts, even when users don’t request his opinion.
The Pentagon contract also comes amid Musk’s public feud with President Donald Trump. Musk previously led the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency before leaving in May and criticizing Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.
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“The adoption of AI is transforming the Department’s ability to support our warfighters and maintain strategic advantage over our adversaries,” said Dr. Doug Matty, the Pentagon’s chief digital and AI officer.
Related: SpaceX Said To Invest $2 Billion In xAI As Part Of Larger Funding Round
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