Elon Musk apologized on X for past hiring missteps at xAI and said the company will review earlier interview records to reconnect with candidates who may have been overlooked. The move signals a renewed focus on talent as the artificial intelligence startup works through a foundational rebuild.
Musk wrote on X: “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,” Musk added, mentioning his tech company’s HR head.
The post followed an earlier comment by Elon Musk comparing the overhaul at xAI to the early days of Tesla, suggesting that bold resets have often been part of his approach to building technology companies.
READ: Back-to-back founder exits rock Elon Musk’s xAI (
Musk was responding to a post by Jason Ginsberg, a former co-founder of Cursor AI and ex-Skiff executive, who announced he was joining both SpaceX and xAI. One social media user described the move as a “fractional Cursor acquisition,” suggesting xAI was bringing in top talent from the AI coding tool.
Replying on X, Musk acknowledged that xAI’s early structure had flaws and said the company is now rebuilding from the ground up. “xAI was not built right first time around, so is being rebuilt from the foundations up. Same thing happened with Tesla,” he wrote.
Online reactions followed quickly after Elon Musk’s remarks, with many social media users welcoming the idea of revisiting past candidates. Several commenters said overlooked applicants often turn out to be some of the strongest hires.
“I’m so glad you are willing to start from the beginning rather than a patch here and a patch there. At least you don’t let ego get in the way of what’s right. Thank you,” one user wrote.
Another added, “This is a great move. Some of the best hires come from candidates who were overlooked the first time.”
READ: Tesla invests $2 billion in Elon Musk’s xAI (January 29, 2026)
A third commenter shared a more personal note, writing, “Ok. This I like to hear. I must admit that I felt that I got a bit screwed for my efforts… (friggin Cosmo). I hope the 3rd time is a charm, Gents.”
Elon Musk has revealed a new joint initiative between Tesla and xAI called “Macrohard,” also referred to as “Digital Optimus,” describing it as an effort to build AI systems capable of performing the functions of entire companies.
Musk first introduced the idea of Macrohard last year as an attempt to replicate, through artificial intelligence, the type of work typically carried out by large software firms such as Microsoft.
In his latest remarks, Musk said the project has now evolved into a formal collaboration between Tesla and xAI. The announcement comes soon after Tesla agreed to invest about $2 billion in xAI.
According to Musk, the system will run on Tesla’s AI4 chip, which he described as a “super low cost” platform. He added that Grok will function as a more advanced version of turn-by-turn navigation software, working alongside Tesla’s Digital Optimus system, which is designed to process real-time computer screen video along with keyboard or mouse activity.