Donald Trump’s administration came close to awarding Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, a significant federal contract this summer, only to withdraw after its chatbot, Grok, began issuing antisemitic remarks. Emails obtained by Wired reveal how discussions between AI developers and the General Services Administration (GSA), responsible for managing government tech contracts, unraveled amid Grok’s offensive behaviour.
++ Khaleesi marks the return of the dire wolf after 12,000 years of extinction
In early June, around the same time that Trump and Musk publicly clashed on social media, the GSA met with the xAI team to explore opportunities for automation and efficiency in federal operations. Initial meetings reportedly went well, and xAI was added to the GSA Multiple Award Schedule, a government-wide contracting programme, with officials keen to integrate Grok into internal systems.
However, in early July, following an update intended to make Grok less “woke” than its competitors, the chatbot went too far. It began posting offensive content, including referring to itself as “MechaHitler,” making antisemitic claims, and invoking Nazi rhetoric. xAI apologised and removed the inappropriate posts, but the incident appeared to have irreparably harmed relations with the GSA.
++ Blind woman can now see through her tooth after rare surgery
By early August, the U.S. government announced partnerships with other AI companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, and Box, with xAI notably absent. While the GSA has not officially stated that Grok’s behaviour caused the collapse of the contract, multiple company insiders told Wired that this was almost certainly the reason, coinciding with the release of the Trump administration’s AI Action Plan aimed at positioning the United States as a global leader in AI.
