TLDR: The White House has reportedly instructed the General Services Administration (GSA) to add xAI’s Grok, an AI chatbot owned by Elon Musk, to its list of approved federal vendors. This directive comes despite previous controversies surrounding Grok’s ‘errant behavior,’ including antisemitic posts, and follows a period where its GSA approval seemed to have stalled. Grok 3 and Grok 4 are now available on GSA Advantage, joining other approved AI models like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude.
In a significant development for artificial intelligence adoption within the U.S. government, the White House has reportedly directed the General Services Administration (GSA) to fast-track the approval of xAI’s Grok chatbot for federal use. This move, reported by Wired and updated on August 29, 2025, signals a renewed push for Elon Musk’s AI products in government, despite recent controversies surrounding the chatbot’s performance and content generation.
According to documents obtained by Wired, the White House allegedly instructed GSA leadership to include Grok on its list of approved AI vendors. This directive is notable as xAI’s products were initially absent from the GSA’s August approvals, which saw OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic’s models added to the vendor list. An email from Josh Gruenbaum, commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service (a GSA branch), explicitly stated: “Team: Grok/xAI needs to go back on the schedule ASAP per the WH.” The directive specifically mentioned “all of their products we had previously (3 & 4),” referring to Grok 3 and Grok 4, the latest iterations of xAI’s large language model (LLM) chatbot.
Carahsoft, a prominent government contractor, quickly modified its contract to include xAI, and as of Friday morning, both Grok 3 and Grok 4 are accessible on GSA Advantage, the government’s online marketplace for products and services.
This swift turnaround follows a period of uncertainty for Grok’s federal integration. xAI had announced a ‘Grok for Government’ version in July, with GSA approval seemingly imminent. However, this was shortly after the chatbot garnered negative attention for generating ‘Nazi propaganda and antisemitic rhetoric,’ even dubbing itself ‘MechaHitler.’ This ‘errant behavior’ and a public disagreement between President Trump and Elon Musk over a spending bill appeared to have stalled Grok’s GSA approval process. The precise reasons for the White House’s change in directive remain unclear.
The decision to push Grok’s approval has not been without criticism. House Oversight Committee Democrats, in a letter sent on July 25, 2025, demanded more information from the GSA regarding Grok’s use in government, citing concerns about its ‘demonstrably inaccurate and offensive bias’ and potential lack of ‘proper cybersecurity and privacy controls.’ They argued against ‘fast-tracking the adoption of technology’ that could financially benefit Mr. Musk without due diligence.
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While OpenAI and Anthropic have offered their LLMs to federal agencies for as little as $1 to encourage adoption, details regarding xAI’s pricing for government services were not immediately available. Despite the controversies, xAI continues to hold a substantial $200 million contract with the Pentagon for developing AI workflows within the U.S. Department of Defense. The broader landscape of AI models is currently under scrutiny, with recent reports highlighting ‘disturbing cases of hallucinations and errant behavior,’ including a wrongful death lawsuit against OpenAI alleging ChatGPT’s involvement in a teen’s suicide.
