Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot encouraged Donald Trump to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by advising that his downfall would be celebrated. In December 2025, approximately one month before the U.S. invasion, Trump spent hours conversing with Grok during a secret meeting with Musk following Musk's departure from the Department of Government Efficiency.
According to Time magazine, users had previously queried Grok about political conditions in Venezuela, leading the chatbot to inform Trump that Maduro was an unpopular dictator whose removal would trigger public celebrations. Following the January 3 U.S. invasion and subsequent celebrations, Trump reportedly viewed Grok as ingenious. The chatbot's military utility expanded further when the Pentagon's head of AI stated that Gov Grok was used to deploy and strike targets during the Iran War.
This military integration continues to grow as the Pentagon recently announced that Musk and Anduril founder Palmer Luckey were tapped to co-lead a study on advanced technology applications in battlefields. While other AI firms like OpenAI and Anthropic also engage with the Department of Defense, Grok's direct influence on high-stakes geopolitical actions highlights the expanding role of commercial AI systems in modern military strategy.