Pentagon Official Profited 4,800% on Musk's xAI Stock, Guardian Reports
Ethics filings show Michael’s xAI stake had been valued at $500,000 to $1 million before the sale, which may have produced a gain of about $24 million.
- On Thursday, The Guardian reported that Emil Michael, the Pentagon's Under Secretary for Research and Engineering, sold his stake in Elon Musk's xAI for between $5 million and $25 million on January 9.
- Pentagon ethics records show Michael held the xAI shares while the department selected xAI's Grok chatbot as a commercial provider in July 2025, before receiving a divestiture certificate that December.
- Beyond xAI, Michael retains millions in stock for AI competitors like Perplexity AI, raising concerns Senator Elizabeth Warren highlighted during his confirmation hearing about potential bias in procurement decisions.
- The Pentagon insisted Michael remained "in full compliance with all ethics laws and regulations," citing its rigorous financial review framework and screening processes to prevent conflicts of interest.
- As the department sidelines companies like Anthropic, which refused to allow military use of its tools, investment concerns continue to emerge regarding potential favoring of firms Michael holds stock in, such as Perplexity.
9 Articles
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Pentagon denies wrongdoing for AI manager's $24m return on xAI investment
In this week’s dispatches from the American kleptocracy, a senior US ‘department of war’ official made up to a 4,800% return on a private investment in Elon Musk’s xAI. The official’s job, you ask? Why, overseeing the Pentagon’s use of AI, of course. What a normal thing to write about a functioning and definitely-not-at-all corrupt democracy. Emil Michael’s official title is ‘under secretary for research and engineering’ at the Pentagon. He mana…
Who is Emil Michael? Pentagon Official Sold xAI Stake for $24M After Landing Defense Deal
Financial records made public this month show that Emil Michael, a leading figure in US military AI, walked away with a $24 million (£17.88 million) gain from selling his private shares in Elon Musk's tech firm. This massive payday stands in stark contrast to the start of his tenure, when his interest in the company was valued at just $1 million (£0.75 million). Who is Emil Michael? In his role as the Pentagon's Under Secretary for Research and …
Trump official in legal hot water after murky $24 million stock sale
An official in President Donald Trump's Department of Defense could be in legal jeopardy after he disclosed the murky sale of stock that he held in Elon Musk's artificial intelligence firm, according to a new report. The Guardian reported on Thursday that Emil Michael, the undersecretary for researc...
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