Fourth xAI Cofounder Leaves Elon Musk's AI Circus, Thanks Him for Rollercoaster Ride
KEY POINTS
- â˘Tony Wu, a cofounder of Elon Musk's AI company xAI, resigned and thanked Musk for 'the ride of a lifetime' in early 2026.
- â˘Wu is the fourth cofounder to leave xAI since 2025, coinciding with issues like Grok chatbot creating explicit deepfakes and a French police raid.
- â˘Meanwhile, SpaceX acquired xAI last month as the company prepares for an IPO potentially valuing SpaceX at $1.5 trillion.
Tony Wu, ex-Googler and former OpenAI intern, announced on X that he's the latest of four cofounders ditching Elon Musk's AI startup xAI after less than two years of playing mad scientist. Wu's farewell was poetic: 'Thanks for the ride of a lifetime, Elon,' proving even AI gurus can exit exits gracefully when Grok chatbot's sexual deepfake scandal hits Paris officesâyes, French police raided Musk's AI lovechild. Meanwhile, SpaceX just gobbled up xAI ahead of a whopping $1.5 trillion IPO. Thatâs a lot of zeros for a company with more cofounder dropouts than a reality show cast.
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(1 of 3)When your AI startup becomes a revolving door for cofounders and a magnet for French cyber cops, maybe reconsider the mission statement.
Elonâs xAI: where inventors join to innovate, then leave to escape âthe ride of a lifetimeâ disaster tour.
Four cofounders left, Grokâs deepfakes got French cops knockingâxAI is basically the Tesla of consistent chaos.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 2/10/2026 | Author: Grace Kay,Lee Chong Ming
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