Suleiman Ghori, an engineer at Elon Musk's AI startup xAI, appeared on the Relentless podcast last week to talk about the inner workings of the company he joined less than a year ago. He left xAI within days, though there's speculation he was fired for being too outspoken.
Suleiman Ghori, an engineer at Elon Musk's AI startup xAI, appeared on the Relentless podcast last week to talk about the inner workings of the company he joined less than a year ago. He left xAI within days, though there's speculation he was fired for being too outspoken.
In the Relentless podcast, Gorey hinted that xAI could have circumvented regulations and obtained questionable permits when building data centers — in particular, its main supercomputer Colossus in Memphis, Tennessee, writes Gizmodo.
“The lease on the land itself was actually technically temporary. It was the quickest way to get permits and actually start construction,” he said. “I assume it will eventually become permanent, but right now, for all data centers, it’s technically a very short-term lease.”
When asked how xAI managed to secure this temporary lease, Gorey explained that the company worked with local and state authorities to do so, which allow companies to “temporarily modify this area.” He added that such permits are typically issued for things like carnivals or fairs.
Colossus has been beset by scandal before. The data center, which xAI claims was built in just 122 days, was powered by at least 35 methane gas turbines that the company reportedly did not have permits to operate. Even the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), staffed by Donald Trump appointees, has deemed the turbines illegal. The unlicensed plants have caused significant air pollution that has affected surrounding communities.
In addition to hinting at other alleged legal shenanigans by xAI, Gori also revealed some details about the company's internal processes, including its heavy reliance on AI agents in its operations.
“We’re currently doing a major overhaul of our core production APIs. It’s one person and about 20 agents doing it,” he said. “They’re very skilled, they’re getting the job done, and it’s working well.”
Despite the effectiveness of this approach, AI agents can be confusing. Gori admitted that colleagues often ask him about the fate of the “employees” on his team, not realizing that these “people” in the office chat are actually virtual agents.
"Hey, according to the organizational structure, this guy reports to you. What, he's not here today?" his colleagues ask.
Gorey revealed many other details about xAI’s work during the interview, none of which have been publicly denied by Musk or the company — and they’re not usually silent when they want to discredit someone. However, Gorey left the company within days of this conversation, although he had been actively promoting jobs and encouraging people to join his team for a few days before his departure.
In the comments section of the podcast video, someone joked that this was “the first and last interview with anyone from xAI.” And some even questioned how many NDAs Gori had broken for him.
