Elon Musk has just sells Grok to the US government for 42 cents – and signals warmer links with Trump

This is the last of a series of offers that the US General Services Administration (GSA), the agency responsible for technological supply, has produced with the best companies of the Alphabet Google; The Chatpt manufacturer, OpenAi; And Anthropic – As part of its new initiative, the OneGov agreement. Each of these transactions is in the short term – to prevent a dominant model, said GSA – but Grok is the longest, with an 18 -month contract. On September 22, the GSA announced that it would work with Meta to obtain free access to its Llama models, while Optaai and Anthropic agreed to provide their models for $ 1, and Google billed 47 cents.

Musk, according to the Wall Street Journal, Chosen 42 cents in reference to the Galaxy hitchhiker guide, a science fiction novel.

It is difficult to calculate the amount of money that Musk saves the government by offering the model at only 42 cents pop. Grok 4 Fast from XAI is at the price per exit, and generally agencies could be at the hook for heavy API license costs.

“We really like the concept of having strong competition and market tension between these models and these companies,” said the federal commissioner on acquisition services Josh Gruenbaum The Wall Street Journal in an interview. “When someone goes and updates their model with an interesting feature, which encourages others to go doing the same thing.”

Musc-Trump relationship

The agreement could be a sign that the turbulent Musk-Trump relationship is in a thaw period. After breaking with Trump in June for prices and expenses – even by calling for his dismissal – Musk has become one of the president’s most vocal criticism. However, on Sunday, the two were spotted side by side at the Charlie Kirk memorial in Arizona, shaking hands and chatting for the first time since their public split.

Now Musk praises Trump management in official press releases, saying that XAI is looking forward to “quickly deploying AI throughout the government”.

Whether it is a fragile truce or a real thaw, the timing is striking: Musk always has trouble keeping the pace of competitors like Openai and Anthropic on the private market, but inside Washington, it has just guaranteed a coveted approval seal.

“Mechahitler” to the government?

Musk’s agreement with Washington comes in the embarrassing triple heels for Grok itself.

The chatbot was surprised border anti -Semitic comments, at some point, doubling “mechahitler”, and even launching insults to the Polish Prime Minister. XAI rubbed the posts and promised more strict guarantees, framing the faux pas in the disorderly process of border AI formation.

“We are aware of the recent messages carried out by Grok and actively work to remove inappropriate messages,” said company at the time, adding that its large user base helps report blind spots so that the model can be recycled quickly.

More than 30 advocacy groups have urged the management and budget office to keep the model outside federal systems, and several Democratic legislators have put pressure on the GSA on its decision, according to the information site Fedscoop. A spokesperson for the GSA stressed that the agency weighs “all suppliers” and that no agreement represents final approval.

Global Forum fortune returns on October 26 to 27, 2025 in Riyadh. CEOs and world leaders will meet for a dynamic event only invitation that shapes the future of business. Request an invitation.