SpaceX, xAI Leaders Join Forces, Hiring
xAI and SpaceX leaders Jason Ginsberg and Andrew Milich announced they're joining forces and hiring for projects like orbital space centers and Mars city foundations. They're looking for roles in software, propulsion, and beyond—a potential opportunity for USC grads targeting LA space jobs.
The recent hiring spree at SpaceX and xAI includes the addition of Andrew Milich and Jason Ginsberg, previously senior leaders at Cursor AI. This move signals an aggressive push to bolster AI coding and engineering capabilities, particularly for Grok, xAI's AI assistant. Musk anticipates Grok catching up to its rivals in coding proficiency by mid-year. Milich, who interned at SpaceX in 2017, expressed excitement about returning to contribute to projects like lunar and Mars missions. Ginsberg highlighted the revolutionary potential of individuals creating their own tools, aligning with Musk's vision of disappearing traditional operating systems and apps. These hires follow SpaceX's acquisition of xAI in February 2026, valuing the combined entity at $1.25 trillion. SpaceX's long-term vision involves orbital space centers and lunar mass drivers, supporting a self-sustaining city on the Moon. These orbital centers would facilitate manufacturing, refueling, and staging for deep-space missions. Musk has also outlined plans for one million satellites operating as orbital data centers, harnessing solar power to support AI applications. However, this ambitious plan raises concerns among astronomers, who fear that satellite streaks could severely impair astronomical observations. Each data center could be up to 330 feet long, orbiting at altitudes between 310 and 1,243 miles. These centers would be in high-inclination orbits, fully illuminated by sunlight, even at midnight. Meanwhile, Tesla received government clearance to convert its $2 billion investment in xAI into a stake in SpaceX, formalizing financial ties ahead of SpaceX's planned IPO. This conversion would give Tesla a stake of less than 1% in SpaceX. The merger aims to create a "vertically-integrated innovation engine," combining SpaceX's space infrastructure with xAI's AI technology.
