Musk Hosts Defense Secretary At SpaceX Days After $739M Contract, Announces Grok AI Pentagon Deployment

'Very soon we will have the world's leading AI models on every unclassified and classified network throughout our department,' he said.

'We want to make Star Trek real,' Musk said as he introduced Hegseth to SpaceX workers at the rocket manufacturing site. 'Star Trek real,' Hegseth replied, flashing a Vulcan salute to the crowd.

Contract Announced Just Days Earlier

The visit came just three days after the US Space Systems Command announced SpaceX had been awarded the $739 million (£598 million) contract to launch satellites with 'missile warning and missile tracking capability'. The contract covers launches scheduled for 2027 and 2028.

The timing has raised eyebrows about the proximity between major defence contracts and Pentagon leadership visits to Musk's facilities. SpaceX has received more than $22 billion (£16.4 billion) in federal contracts since 2008.

Hegseth's remarks formed part of his 'Arsenal of Freedom' tour, which he described as a call to revitalise America's defence manufacturing base.

Dual AI Systems For Pentagon Networks

In what Hegseth called an 'AI acceleration strategy', the Pentagon will integrate two competing AI platforms into its operations simultaneously.

The deployment of Grok comes despite recent global backlash over the model allowing users to create sexualised images of people, including children, without their consent, according to Bloomberg. Hegseth confirmed the integration would proceed as planned.

He announced Cameron Stanley, formerly an executive at Amazon Web Services, as the new chief digital and artificial intelligence officer at the War Department. Emil Michael was named chief technology officer for the entire Pentagon.

'We will become an "AI-first" warfighting force across all domains,' Hegseth declared during his speech, which was broadcast live from the facility.

Attack On Pentagon Bureaucracy

Hegseth used the SpaceX visit to criticise what he called the Pentagon's 'risk-averse culture' that has slowed innovation.

'For too long, we organised our ecosystem around stages in silos, labs over here, so-called rapid units over there, commercial outreach in a different building or on another coast altogether, and warfare fighters somewhere at the end, almost an afterthought,' he told the assembled SpaceX workforce.

He argued the Pentagon had been running a 'peacetime science fair' whilst adversaries were conducting a 'wartime arms race'.

'This is about building an innovation pipeline that cuts through the overgrown bureaucratic underbrush and clears away the debris Elon-style — preferably with a chainsaw,' Hegseth said, drawing applause from the crowd.

He emphasised the need for the United States to 'win the strategic competition for 21st century technological supremacy' in artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, hypersonics, long-range drones, space capabilities, directed energy, and biotechnology.

SpaceX's Expanding Pentagon Role

The latest contract follows a $714 million (£578 million) deal SpaceX secured in October for additional launches.

SpaceX is reportedly a leading contender to work on Trump's proposed Golden Dome missile defence system alongside Peter Thiel-backed Palantir Technologies, Benzinga reported.

The company's position has been strengthened by Trump's appointment of Jared Isaacman, a Musk ally and former Shift4 Payments chief executive, as NASA Administrator.

During the event, Hegseth praised SpaceX's Starbase facility. 'There's nothing like this in America. There's nothing like this in the world,' he said of the massive rocket manufacturing and testing site in Brownsville, Texas.

Presidents of both parties have attempted for decades to speed weapons development and cut costs, with limited success. Hegseth's sweeping promises to dismantle Pentagon bureaucracy face significant practical challenges, particularly given the complexity of defence procurement systems and established relationships with major contractors.