According to reports by The Information, after Elon Musk's company acquired xAI in February and merged it into what was renamed SpaceXAI, the firm has been experiencing significant talent drain—more than 50 researchers and engineers have left since then. Departures span multiple critical areas, including core directions such as coding, world models, and Grok Voice. Of particular note is the exit of Juntang Zhuang, head of the pre-training team. Pre-training constitutes the first step in building new AI models; that team has now shrunk to just a handful of members. Several current employees at SpaceXAI and sources familiar with the situation expressed doubts about whether the company remains committed to developing top-tier models. Competitors are rapidly filling the void. According to The Information, at least 11 former xAI staff have joined Meta, while another seven have moved to Thinking Machine Labs, founded by Mira Murati. TechCrunch previously reported on at least 11 publicly disclosed departures following the merger, including two co-founders. Beyond intense competition for talent, Musk's extreme work culture also serves as a major driver behind these exits. Sources indicate that Musk set unrealistic timelines for model training, forcing compromises in Grok's development—a complaint echoed among employees across several companies under Musk's umbrella, including Tesla. However, some leavers were motivated by financial considerations. SpaceX regularly opens up its private tender offers, allowing employees to sell vested shares. Given the anticipated fervor around an upcoming IPO, many staff believe their equity holdings are nearing liquidity windows; once financial pressures ease, they become more inclined to leave high-pressure environments.