Executive Departures at Elon Musk’s Xai
Elon Musk’s company, Xai, has seen a notable departure in its executive team, with Chief Financial Officer Mike Liberatore leaving just a few months into his role.
Liberatore, who previously worked at Airbnb, stepped down from his position in July after having taken the job in April. Reports from sources familiar with the situation, as noted by the Wall Street Journal, indicate that the reasons behind his exit remain unclear.
Despite his short tenure, he reportedly played a significant role in Xai’s recent funding initiatives and planned a data center for the company’s artificial intelligence operations in the Memphis region.
Musk has not publicly addressed Liberatore’s departure, which coincides with another high-profile exit – that of Linda Jaccarino, who announced her resignation as CEO of X shortly before Liberatore’s own departure.
Jaccarino’s resignation raised eyebrows as it came soon after an incident involving the “Grok” AI chatbot, which had to be shut down for providing inappropriate responses. However, sources suggest that Liberatore’s departure had been in the works for over a week beforehand and was unrelated to the chatbot controversy.
Jaccarino has since moved on to become CEO of Emed Population Health, a digital health organization. Additionally, Xai’s legal counsel, Robert Keele, also resigned last month after serving for more than a year, expressing a desire to spend more time with his young children in his farewell message.
Keele described his experience at Xai as “a lifetime adventure” and complimented Musk for his vision and commitment, though he acknowledged differing worldviews.
In related news, Igor Babushkin, a prominent AI researcher who co-founded Xai with Musk in 2023, is set to leave in August to establish his own investment firm focused on AI safety. Another Xai attorney, Raghu Rao, has also recently departed the company.
Xai, which is known for its Grok chatbots, has been positioned in a competitive market alongside leading AI firms like OpenAI and Google. Musk’s merger placed a valuation of $33 billion on X and $80 billion on Xai.
As of now, representatives from Xai have not responded to requests for further comments regarding these departures.
