Elon Musk has spent recent days promoting videos posted by Tesla drivers around the world documenting their experience talking with an “unhinged” version of the AI virtual assistant Grok – but one clip amplified by the tech billionaire stands out because of where some of it was filmed: A highly secure government facility.
Now, a US intelligence agency that has personnel working at the sensitive site is looking into the “incident,” CNN has learned.
The video primarily offers the man’s interactions with Musk’s “Grok” AI language tool from xAI, as he records himself interacting with a new feature called “unhinged mode” while driving to work in his Tesla.
The footage was posted to X and subsequently amplified by Musk, accumulating over 16 million views to date.
By enabling unhinged mode, the driver in the video prompted Grok to respond to his questions “like an amateur stand-up comic who is still learning the craft – sometimes being objectionable, inappropriate, and offensive,” according to X’s description of the feature.
While the video may have gained attention for its vulgar and colorful quotes from the AI, where the video was taken raises its own set of questions, as recording video and taking photos without authorization is prohibited on campus and a violation of federal law.
A closer look at the video shows the man entering what is known as NSA’s friendship annex – a sensitive federal complex located in Linthicum, Maryland, where thousands of intelligence professionals and cleared contractors work in relative obscurity, according to a CNN analysis of the video and sources familiar with the site.
“Recording video within the boundaries of sensitive Federal facilities is banned for very good reasons,” Jason Kikta, a former US Cyber Command official, told CNN. “Sensitive equipment could be getting installed. There could be personnel within view who need to remain publicly unaffiliated. Allies could be conducting a sensitive visit, etc.”
US Cyber Command, one of the intelligence agencies with employees who work at the complex, is now reviewing the “incident,” a spokesperson told CNN on Friday, days after the video was posted to social media.
“U.S. Cyber Command is aware of the video and the incident is under review,” a Cyber Command spokesperson in response to a CNN inquiry about the video.
X did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.
The NSA annex, which was established in the 1970s, functions as a cyber espionage station and is used to conduct highly sensitive intelligence work related to foreign hackers.
It is also a facility where US officials analyze highly sensitive signals intercepts and conduct screenings of new government employees, including polygraph and psychological tests; it also serves as the main campus of the National Cryptologic School.
In the video geolocated by CNN, a man driving a Tesla is seen turning into a parking lot at the annex. The sign seen in the video as the car enters the site reads “FANX 1,” which is one of three main buildings at this NSA location.
Based on a review of Google Street imagery from the location and the car’s path seen on the Tesla map in the vehicle, the man in the video appears to approach a gated security entrance before proceeding to park inside the lot in front of FANX 1, one of the main buildings at the NSA complex.
Two sources familiar with the site’s layout also confirmed to CNN that the driver in the video appears to go through an access control checkpoint at the facility’s entrance while filming and then continue to record once on campus. The sources spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity to prevent retribution for speaking on sensitive topics.
The fact that this individual was able to simply drive onto the secure site clearly indicates he is either a member of the intelligence community or a cleared contractor, likely working for the NSA, both sources said.
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