① The US Department of Defense (DoD) has signed artificial intelligence procurement contracts with several tech giants, including xAI, to promote AI adoption.

② xAI also stated that its products have been added to the General Services Administration (GSA) schedule, making them available for purchase by all US government offices and agencies.

③ This development comes after xAI's chatbot Grok faced controversy for making racist remarks, while the relationship between Elon Musk and the US government remains complex and nuanced.

The US Department of Defense has signed substantial AI procurement contracts with several Silicon Valley tech giants as part of the US government's push to promote artificial intelligence products.

Elon Musk's xAI announced on Monday that it secured a government contract worth $200 million and will launch a "Grok for Government" program to support the US government's proactive adoption of AI initiatives.

xAI stated that the new agreement will enable US government departments to use the latest version of its chatbot, Grok 4, and provide customized AI tools for US national security purposes. The company also plans to offer technical support for classified environments.

xAI further announced that it has been added to the General Services Administration (GSA) schedule, meaning all US government offices and agencies can now purchase xAI's products.

The US Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) stated in a press release that xAI's new contract with the DoD is part of a government initiative to assist in developing AI agent workflows covering various mission areas. Alongside xAI, Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic have also each been awarded contracts worth up to $200 million.

Mired in Controversy

As the taboo around Silicon Valley partnering with the Pentagon gradually fades, several tech companies, including Meta, Amazon, and Google, have begun collaborating with or strengthened their ties to the US government over the past year.

Nevertheless, xAI's participation in the Pentagon's procurement program, especially while under intense scrutiny, has sparked significant controversy. Its chatbot Grok recently made racist remarks on social media, raising questions about the model's safety.

Furthermore, xAI's CEO, Elon Musk, led the White House Office of American Innovation during the early days of former President Trump's administration, aggressively cutting what he termed "wasteful spending," including government contracts deemed outdated or wasteful.

However, xAI itself has now secured a much larger government contract.
Adding another layer of complexity, the relationship between Musk and Trump has been cooling significantly, leading to speculation that Musk's various companies risk losing existing government contracts. According to incomplete statistics, contracts between Musk's companies and the US government total over $38 billion.

Beyond the Pentagon contract news, xAI is also reportedly making significant commercial moves. Musk stated on Sunday night that a shareholder vote regarding Tesla investing in xAI will be held at Tesla's annual meeting in November, though he does not support merging xAI with Tesla(Tesla Motors, Inc.(TSLA.US) ).