Musk wins contract to provide Grok AI to US government
What's the story
Elon Musk's artificial intelligence (AI) start-up, xAI, has signed a contract with the US General Services Administration (GSA). The deal will see the provision of xAI's Grok chatbot to federal agencies. The move is part of a broader effort by Washington to increase AI adoption in government operations and boost competition among top developers in this rapidly growing sector.
Cost advantage
Federal agencies can now buy Grok models
The contract, which is valid until March 2027, allows federal agencies to purchase Grok models for just $0.42 per organization. This is significantly cheaper than the $1 per year fee charged by OpenAI for its ChatGPT service. The deal includes the latest versions of xAI's reasoning models—Grok 4 and Grok 4 Fast—and promises support from xAI engineers during implementation.
Upgrade option
Upgrading to Grok enterprise subscriptions is also an option
The contract also gives agencies an option to upgrade to Grok enterprise subscriptions. These would be in line with federal security standards and offer additional features and higher usage limits. This flexibility is part of GSA's "OneGov Strategy," which aims to standardize technology procurement and increase government use of AI. Other suppliers under this program include OpenAI, Meta Platforms, Alphabet's Google, and Anthropic.
Reliability issues
Concerns about Grok's reliability and potential biases
Despite the advantages offered by the deal, Grok has been criticized for providing factually incorrect answers and politically biased commentary. These concerns highlight broader doubts about the reliability of generative AI systems. Advocacy groups have also flagged instances where Grok produced offensive language or conspiracy-laden claims, raising questions about the effectiveness of safeguards built into its algorithms.