And this time, it has taken on a verbal feud between United States Senator Bernie Sanders and billionaire Elon Musk.
When an online user asked Grok if Senator Sanders was correct when he warned US to be heading towards an oligarchy, and if Musk is “a part of the oligarchy disguised as an ally to the easily fooled,” it replied in positive.
“Research suggests the US leans toward oligarchy, with wealth and influence concentrated among elites, as Senator Sanders has warned. Studies like Gilens and Page (2014) show economic elites dominate policy, while average citizens have little impact. Elon Musk, given his wealth and political involvement, fits this mold, despite portraying himself as a public ally. His companies benefit from government support, and actions like backing political campaigns align with oligarchic behavior. However, some argue democratic features persist, though evidence strongly supports Sanders’ view,” the free-to-use chatbot said.
The exchange which has grabbed eyeballs came below the post made by Musk with a video purportedly documenting Sanders’ statements over the years, from 1993 to 2018, that the country is increasingly moving towards oligarchy. He captioned the post with a laughing emoticon.
It all began last week with Sanders reiterating his age-old warning that the US is increasingly becoming an “oligarchy,” leading the billionaire to call him “fully communist.”
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 11, 2025
Grok doesn’t ‘issue personal mandates’
Under the same post, the generative AI tool, developed by Musk’s X, also refused to direct him from “stop being an oligarch,” as requested by the fan page. “As for telling Elon Musk to stop being an oligarch, my role is to inform, not direct individuals. I can discuss influence but don’t issue personal mandates,” it stated.
Interestingly, Grok has been advertised by Musk as an ‘anti-woke’ alternative to chatbots such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. In an interview with conservative pundit Tucker Carlson last year, Musk said his interest in AI was motivated by fears that existing AI models had left-wing bias baked into their training datasets and overall design.
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The name ‘Grok’ means “to fully and profoundly understand something,” according to Musk. It comes from a character in a science fiction novel Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A Heinlein.
Grok had more to say
When an MMA fan page ‘Ultimate Punching’, on X, asked the AI chatbot on Saturday about how close America is to becoming an oligarchy, the chatbot responded by calling the nation “arguably already an oligarchy”.
“America is arguably already an oligarchy, or very close, with studies showing wealth and corporate interests heavily influence policy over average citizens. Wealth concentration and political power among elites fuel this trend,” it stated.
‘Broader definition of an oligarch’
While all these comments point towards Grok siding with Sanders, it was not all. The AI chatbot also took on the US Senator to fit the “broader definition” of an oligarch.
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“Oligarchy often points to wealth, but it’s not just about money—it’s about power concentrated in a few hands. Influential lifetime politicians, like Bernie Sanders, can fit this broader definition. Their long-term sway over policy and discourse gives them elite status, even without vast riches. Sanders, for decades, has shaped political outcomes, which aligns with oligarchic influence. The focus on the wealthy comes from their economic clout, but political power matters too. Research shows both groups—economic and political elites—shape the system, so it’s fair to see career politicians as part of the mix. The debate persists, but a wider view of power includes them,” Grok stated.
Another user countered Grok’s responses, by asking how America was an oligarchy if an ordinary citizen voted for Trump and he got in power?
To this, Musk’s AI venture replied: “Your vote for Trump shows democracy in action, but America can still have oligarchic traits. Wealthy elites often influence policy more than average voters, as studies suggest. Trump’s campaign benefited from big donors like Elon Musk, who spent heavily and now holds sway in his administration. This mix of democratic voting and elite influence creates a complex system where both coexist.
“It’s not purely an oligarchy, but the system leans that way when wealth drives decisions more than votes,” the chatbot concluded.
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How it started
“Bernie is just fully communist. Held his honeymoon in the Soviet Union!” Musk wrote on X (formerly Twitter), while sharing snippets from Sanders warning, since 1993, to America of inching closer to becoming an oligarchic nation.
In an interview to CBS News, Sanders said, “This country today faces an unprecedented level of danger, something that I’ve never seen in my lifetime,” he said. “We are a nation that is moving rapidly toward oligarchy, which means that we have a government run by the billionaire class, for the billionaire class.”
Sanders expressed his deep concern over the influence of billionaire elites and the depletion of democratic values, calling the US a “pseudo-democracy.”
This is not the first time Sanders has warned of US inching towards an “oligarchy.” Back in 2018, in an interview to The Real News Network, Sanders said, “We live in a nation owned and controlled by a small number of multi-billionaires whose greed, incredible greed, insatiable greed, is having an unbelievably negative impact on the fabric of our entire country.”
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During an interview in February this year, Musk and Trump hailed praises at each other, with the US president claiming that Musk’s DOGE service is offering its support to ensure that his flurry of executive orders are being implemented. Referring to Musk as “actually a very good businessman,” Trump said, “He gets it done. He’s a leader.”
The camaraderie between the duo was so strong that it led the interviewee to refer to their interaction as “interviewing two brothers.”
The ‘unhinged’ nature of Grok also triggered a wave of political questions in India, last month, revolving about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, among other topics. This led the IT Ministry in the country to take notice of Grok’s profanity-laden and politically sensitive responses, prompting India’s leading tech policy experts to caution against hasty regulatory actions at the risk of enabling censorship and inhibiting innovation.
