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xAI Founding Team Nears Disbandment as Musk Brings in Tesla Leadership

xAI Founding Team Nears Disbandment as Musk Brings in Tesla Leadership

May 19, 2026
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xAI Founding Team Nears Disbandment as Musk Brings in Tesla Leadership

Elon Musk's AI venture, xAI, is undergoing a seismic shift in its workforce. Recent reports confirm that co-founder Manuel Croiss has chosen to depart.

This leaves Ross Nodin as the sole remaining member from the original group of 11 core founders who joined Musk to launch xAI three years ago. Following the earlier exits of notable AI scientists like Wu Yuhuai and Jimmy Ba this year, the near-total exodus of the founding team casts serious doubt on the company's internal management and technical roadmap.

Musk Takes Personal Charge in Cross-Company Reshuffle

Confronted with this brain drain, Musk bypassed traditional external hiring in favor of a radical internal overhaul. He has personally assumed direct oversight for dozens of employees while also redeploying a significant number of engineers from Tesla and SpaceX to bolster the ranks.

Concurrently, Musk executed deep cuts within the existing xAI team and has attempted to re-engage candidates previously turned down in interviews to inject fresh talent. Musk has publicly conceded that xAI trails its competitors in key areas like code generation, and these frantic adjustments are aimed at closing that technological gap.

Valuation Skyrockets to $1.5 Trillion as SpaceX Integration Begins

Despite the turmoil within its technical ranks, xAI is experiencing fervent activity in the capital markets. This period of personnel instability coincides with a major corporate milestone: SpaceX has completed its acquisition of xAI. Under Musk's overarching strategy, the merger is designed to foster deep synergy in computing power, data, and aerospace engineering. With SpaceX's planned public listing, the combined entity's valuation is projected to reach a staggering $1.5 trillion.

This signals Musk's rapid transformation of xAI from a standalone research lab into a "super brain" deeply embedded within his broader empire of space and energy companies.

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