Elon Musk's xAI has reportedly attracted talent from Tesla, with three former engineers from the electric vehicle (EV) maker joining the AI startup since its launch last summer. One of the recent additions to xAI is Ethan Knight, a machine-learning scientist who previously worked at Tesla. Knight, who had been overseeing the team working on computer vision for Tesla's self-driving technology, made the move to xAI last month.
Musk, the CEO of both Tesla and xAI, responded to reports of engineers leaving Tesla for other AI companies. He claimed that Knight had initially considered joining OpenAI before opting for xAI, alleging that OpenAI had been aggressively recruiting Tesla engineers with lucrative compensation packages. In response, Musk stated that he had been increasing salaries for Tesla's AI engineering team.
Amidst the competition for AI talent among major tech companies, Musk has been emphasizing the importance of controlling Tesla's AI strategy. In a recent post, Musk expressed discomfort with expanding Tesla's AI and robotics capabilities without having a significant voting stake. He indicated that having a quarter of the voting bloc would make him influential in decision-making, although he could still be outvoted on major issues. Musk suggested that if he lacked sufficient control, he would prefer to develop products outside of Tesla.
These remarks were viewed as an ultimatum by some observers and caused concern among investors. Analysts noted that Musk's comments had stirred controversy, with one describing them as sparking a 'firestorm.' Another prominent Tesla supporter characterized Musk's statements as unusual and akin to 'blackmail' of the company's investors.
