WASHINGTON — Elon Musk, CEO of xAI and SpaceX, has initiated a major restructuring of xAI, admitting that the company “was not built right the first time around.” Musk has brought in a “fixer” from Tesla and SpaceX to audit the AI company and lead the overhaul, according to recent reports from the Financial Times.
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The move comes just over a month after SpaceX acquired xAI in an all-equity deal valuing the AI firm at $250 billion. The restructuring follows the departure of several xAI co-founders, including Zihang Dai and Guodong Zhang, leaving only Manuel Kroiss and Ross Nordeen as the remaining original team members alongside Musk.
Many talented people over the past few years were declined an offer or even an interview @xAI. My apologies.@BarisAkis and I are going through the company interview history and reaching back out to promising candidates. https://t.co/tvhipa1lu1
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 13, 2026
Musk is also revisiting the company’s previous hiring records. In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on March 13, he wrote that he and Baris Akis are reviewing rejected applications to reach out to promising candidates, adding: “Sorry, candidates should always be treated with great respect.” He emphasized that xAI is being rebuilt “from the foundations up.”
How long ago?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 13, 2026
xAI currently employs just over 5,000 people, according to LinkedIn, compared to more than 7,500 at OpenAI and over 4,700 at Anthropic. Experts note that this talent gap is critical as SpaceX prepares for a potentially record-breaking initial public offering (IPO) later this year.
The overhaul is expected to address structural challenges and strengthen the company ahead of its ambitious growth plans. Musk’s decision to bring in trusted leadership from SpaceX and Tesla highlights the urgency to stabilize xAI’s operations, retain talent, and improve organizational efficiency.
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Analysts suggest that these moves will not only reinforce xAI’s capabilities but also ensure the company is well-positioned to compete with other leading AI firms in a rapidly evolving market.