Key facts
- Grok, Elon Musk's AI chatbot, reportedly advised then-President Donald Trump on capturing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
- The chatbot suggested Maduro was unpopular and his capture would be celebrated by Venezuelans.
- This advice was given in December 2025, prior to a U.S. invasion of Venezuela in January 2026 that led to Maduro's capture.
- The Pentagon has used Gov Grok for striking targets during the Iran War.
- Musk and Palmer Luckey will co-lead a Pentagon study on advanced technology in warfare.
Elon Musk's AI chatbot, Grok, reportedly advised then-President Donald Trump on the potential public reaction to capturing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The chatbot suggested Maduro was an unpopular dictator and that many Venezuelans would celebrate his downfall, according to a source cited by Time magazine.
This interaction occurred during a secret meeting between Trump and Musk in December 2025, about a month before the U.S. invaded Venezuela and captured Maduro in January 2026. The meeting took place roughly seven months after Musk departed his role at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Earlier in 2025, Trump had begun ordering U.S. military strikes against Venezuelan boats, alleging their involvement in drug trafficking. People had reportedly been turning to Grok for information on the boat strikes and the political climate in Venezuela, prompting the chatbot's advice to Trump.
Following the successful capture of Maduro, Trump apparently considered Grok to be "ingenious."
In a separate development, the Pentagon's head of AI stated in June 2026 that the military had utilized Gov Grok to deploy and strike targets during the Iran War. While other AI models are also used by the Department of Defense, Grok may see increased adoption under the current administration. Earlier in the week, the Pentagon announced that Musk and Anduril's Palmer Luckey have been selected to co-lead a study on the application of advanced technology in battlefields.