Elon Musk is taking steps to strengthen his control over Tesla’s AI strategy by recruiting top talent from his own company, according to reports. Recently, three engineers left Tesla to work for xAI, including Ethan Knight, a former Tesla employee and machine-learning scientist. Knight has been tasked with developing computer vision for self-driving technology at xAI.
In response to the news, Musk accused OpenAI of aggressively recruiting Tesla engineers and offered them significant compensation. He stated that he had been increasing salaries for Tesla’s engineering team members in response to this. Musk’s push to gain more control over Tesla’s AI strategy was also highlighted in a recent post on X, where he expressed his discomfort with expanding the company’s AI and robotics capabilities without a significant voting bloc control.
Musk’s comments sparked some controversy among investors, with analysts labeling them an ultimatum while longtime bull Ross Gerber described them as bizarre and likened them to “blackmail.” Despite the controversy, Musk’s efforts to recruit top AI talent and solidify his control over Tesla’s AI strategy have been closely monitored by the tech community and investors alike.
