Pentagon Taps Musk, Luckey for Battlefield Tech Study After Grok Guided January Venezuela Strike
Updated
Updated · TechCrunch · Oct 1
Pentagon Taps Musk, Luckey for Battlefield Tech Study After Grok Guided January Venezuela Strike
3 articles · Updated · TechCrunch · Oct 1
Summary
The Pentagon this week named Elon Musk and Anduril founder Palmer Luckey to co-lead a study on how advanced technology can be used on future battlefields.
Time reported the move follows a December 2025 secret meeting in which Trump spent hours querying Musk’s Grok about Venezuela, including likely public reaction if Nicolás Maduro were captured.
Grok told Trump many Venezuelans would celebrate Maduro’s downfall, and celebrations after the Jan. 3 U.S. invasion and Maduro’s capture reportedly left Trump convinced the chatbot was highly effective.
That confidence appears to have carried into military use: the Pentagon’s AI chief said in June that Gov Grok was used to help deploy forces and strike targets during the Iran war.
Project Meridian, announced earlier this week, is part of a broader Pentagon push to shape future warfare technology, with Musk returning to a formal government role alongside Luckey.