xAI, an artificial intelligence startup company launched by Elon Musk, reportedly poached another engineer from Tesla electric car manufacturer. The 53-year-old billionaire only introduced the said AI firm last year.
As per Electrek, xAI’s hiring of Tesla engineers has become controversial mainly because Musk previously said that his EV brand is an AI company. Thus, the employees’ move to xAI is clearly “poaching” as it recruited the engineer from a similar company.
Musk to Focus on AI Projects Outside of Tesla
Musk has been asking for 25% voting control over Tesla, which is said to be a strange request. Moreover, it was said that he made this move due to fears that some group could take over the company and take control of the existing AI projects.
He explained that if he could not get this level of control, it would be better for them to develop and build products outside of Tesla. Observers assumed this was the reason why Musk launched xAI, which allowed him to do all the artificial intelligence projects without hurdles. But then again, many saw the creation of the tech startup as a “clear conflict of interest” since Musk admitted that he will now focus more on AI away from Tesla.
Job Recruitments at xAI
Since xAI has many plans, it is already hiring staff for its projects. However, it was revealed that it has also been recruiting from Tesla's AI team. As of this week, the company reportedly poached another engineer, making this the fourth employee to leave the automaker.
Ethan Knight, a machine-learning scientist at Tesla, has become the fourth engineer recruited by xAi. The three other engineers who joined the AI startup in the last 12 months worked at Tesla on supercomputing, AI infrastructure, and autopilot developments.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that Musk responded to the reports about Knight’s departure from Tesla to move to xAI. He explained that the engineer was supposed to go to OpenAI so it is better to just hire him again for xAI this time. Musk also said they will raise the salaries of Tesla engineers to prevent OpenAI from poaching them again.
“There are over 200 excellent engineers in the Tesla AI/Autonomy team,” the billionaire said via a post on X. “Tesla’s pace of progress with autonomy is accelerating and the talent war for AI is the craziest talent war I have ever seen!”
Photo by: Prometheus/Unsplash


SpaceX Edges Toward Landmark IPO as Elon Musk Confirms Plans
Trump Criticizes EU’s €120 Million Fine on Elon Musk’s X Platform
ANZ Faces Legal Battle as Former CEO Shayne Elliott Sues Over A$13.5 Million Bonus Dispute
China Adds Domestic AI Chips to Government Procurement List as U.S. Considers Easing Nvidia Export Curbs
SpaceX Insider Share Sale Values Company Near $800 Billion Amid IPO Speculation
EU Court Cuts Intel Antitrust Fine to €237 Million Amid Long-Running AMD Dispute
Australia Enforces World-First Social Media Age Limit as Global Regulation Looms
Nvidia Develops New Location-Verification Technology for AI Chips
U.S. Greenlights Nvidia H200 Chip Exports to China With 25% Fee
Samsung SDI Secures Major LFP Battery Supply Deal in the U.S.
Mizuho Raises Broadcom Price Target to $450 on Surging AI Chip Demand
Adobe Strengthens AI Strategy Ahead of Q4 Earnings, Says Stifel
Trump Signs Executive Order to Establish National AI Regulation Standard
JD.com Pledges 22 Billion Yuan Housing Support for Couriers as China’s Instant Retail Competition Heats Up
EssilorLuxottica Bets on AI-Powered Smart Glasses as Competition Intensifies 



