The Best Time to Leave xAI Is Before Joining. The Next Best Time is Right Now

Earlier this week, Elon Musk’s AI firm xAI lost cofounder Tony Wu. A day later, Jimmy Ba joined him in adding ex-xAI to his LinkedIn bio. Ba was the sixth member of the company’s 12-person founding team to ditch the firm, leaving just half of the original crew still on board. They were followed by at least five staffers, according to a report from The Verge, who decided their time was better spent elsewhere. And while few of them had anything negative to say publicly as they collectively headed for the door, it’s all a bit odd, right?

One explanation is that the company is simply restructuring in the wake of the merger with SpaceX, another Musk company. Those types of acquisitions always lead to some restructuring, and Musk announced plans for “space-based AI†data centers, which does seem like the kind of thing that requires a pretty particular skillset, so maybe people are ditching because they’re better suited for terrestrial projects.

“xAI was reorganized a few days ago to improve speed of execution. As a company grows, especially as quickly as xAI, the structure must evolve just like any living organism,†Musk wrote on Twitter by way of an explanation for all the sudden departures. “This unfortunately required parting ways with some people. We wish them well in future endeavors. We are hiring aggressively. Join xAI if the idea of mass drivers on the Moon appeals to you.â€

The company is definitely hiring. Per a post from xAI engineer Ethan He, the company is looking for people to ramp up development of its world model. The role offers employees “Tons of GPUs and data. Flat structure. Competitive compensation. No politics.â€

That last one is sure interesting. There are a couple of ways to interpret it. One perhaps more generous way would be that it means xAI is a non-political space, so prospective employees shouldn’t worry about whether their views fit in. It’s a bit of a stretch given that the company is owned by Elon Musk, the largest political donor to Donald Trump during 2024, and a guy who threatened to launch his own political party. He’s also stated that xAI is making an explicitly “anti-woke†AI, so perhaps a more likely interpretation of the “no politics†perk is more like “Keep your politics at home in case we need to fine-tune Grok to talk about white genocide more often.

Another explanation might be that it’s just an ideal time to cash out. As part of the merger with SpaceX, the newly formed company reportedly issued $250 billion in new shares to xAI’s shareholders, including employees with stock options. SpaceX, per the Wall Street Journal, is one of several startups that offer employees regular tender offers to cash out. No better time to do that than after getting a whole bunch of shares gifted to you because your boss is probably financially manipulating the market.

It’s also kind of a good time to say “enough is enough†if you’re an employee who has maintained even an ounce of a moral center. The Verge cites several former employees who said the vibes at the company have been pretty brutal lately. The recent controversy in which Grok was used to produce on-demand non-consensual nudes en masse certainly didn’t help. But employees also said they have felt like they’ve been playing catch-up with other companies, which has led to cutting corners and burnout, as well as a disregard for safety and regulations.

Seems like the best time to stop working for Elon Musk is as soon as possible, but it helps when you can cash out with a cool couple of million dollars on the way out.