Musk’s AI chatbot Grok reportedly encouraged Trump to capture Venezuela’s president

Time reports that Trump privately met with Elon Musk in December 2025 and spent hours asking Grok about Venezuela before the U.S. invaded and captured Nicolás Maduro. Grok reportedly described Maduro as deeply unpopular and predicted many Venezuelans would celebrate his removal, which Trump later viewed as evidence of the chatbot’s value.

The report highlights how AI advice may be moving from policy analysis into high-stakes national security decision-making with limited transparency. Grok’s reported role, alongside Pentagon use of AI tools and Musk’s new battlefield technology study with Palmer Luckey, suggests the administration may increasingly favor commercially built systems in military planning.