March 30, 2026 – Elon Musk, a pivotal figure in the artificial intelligence arena, has experienced a rollercoaster journey—from his foundational role and major financial support for OpenAI to his eventual split and the launch of xAI as a formidable competitor. Initially, Musk rallied a team of 11 co-founders for xAI, signaling his intent to create a significant player in the AI space.
Yet, recent months have seen a dramatic unraveling of xAI’s founding team. By March 26, Ross Nordin, the last of the original co-founders, had exited, leaving Musk as the sole remaining founder. The reasons behind this mass exodus remain shrouded in mystery, with few of the departing co-founders offering public explanations. Industry insiders, however, point to the integration of xAI with SpaceX as a likely catalyst for the shakeup.
Musk’s business empire, which includes the publicly traded Tesla, operates under varying degrees of autonomy. While Tesla’s status as a listed company imposes certain limitations, xAI and SpaceX are firmly under Musk’s control, enabling him to pursue bold visions without external constraints. A recent announcement regarding the TeraFab chip factory project underscores this ambition, with plans to leverage chips for space-based deployments, heavily relying on the combined strengths of xAI and SpaceX. The objective is for SpaceX to achieve an annual launch capacity of 10 million tons, a milestone that would cement its dominance in the aerospace sector.
The consolidation of xAI and SpaceX has sent shockwaves through the U.S. capital markets, with the combined entity valued between 1.2trillionand1.5 trillion. The anticipated initial public offering (IPO) for this venture is projected to raise an eye-watering $75 billion, surpassing the total annual fundraising of the entire U.S. stock market.
Despite Musk’s lofty financial goals, xAI faces significant challenges. Its AI model, Groq, has yet to match the capabilities of the industry’s leading contenders. Currently, Groq’s main attractions are its robust information verification features and a more permissive approach to content restrictions, allowing for a broader range of interactions compared to its rivals. However, relying on these factors to draw users may prove to be a double-edged sword, potentially stifling Groq’s long-term growth and innovation. For xAI to truly leave its mark, it must deliver a revolutionary AI model capable of captivating both users and industry experts.
