zlacker

The rumor I heard is that Musk's big issue with SpaceX was that he was only able to employ US citizens with a security clearance, as per the limitations of a rocket company, which he has rallied against multiple times.

One of the motivations behind this whole thing could be that he could make a way for foreign talent to work on space projects without the necessary government signoff.

>>torgin+(OP)
Would that really be that much of an unlock?

>>osigur+qa
Yes. I don't have an estimate right off the bat, but if you considered all the people employed at top tech companies, what percentage do you think are US nationals eligible for a security clearance?

I'd say less than a third.

>>torgin+bg
I had a look at SpaceX career page. There are 128 software related roles available. Perhaps half of those could be filled by big tech type companies, the others are more specialized (like antenna software engineer). I don't think that 64 open positions would move the needle really. And, if it were that easy to get around the security clearance by having another company, he could have created a new / separate company years ago.

Wouldn't a simpler explanation be that SpaceX is making a lot of money while xAI is losing a lot. If funds have to flow through Elon personally it is likely complicated and costly. Also, if the "space data center" idea is actually workable (I have no idea if it is) then it does make some logical sense as well. Of course, Twitter just seems like kind of a write off to me at this point.