Elon Musk Is Now Reading All SpaceX Job Applications Himself — Here’s What He’s Looking For

Elon Musk is actively seeking out his next wave of star performers. 

Musk’s SpaceX is staffing up its AI team with top engineers and physicists as it gears up for what could become the largest initial public offering ever. Musk said in a post on X on Thursday that he plans to personally review every application that passes an initial “sanity check” screen. In other words, after basic screening for fit and qualifications, candidate profiles won’t just land in a recruiter’s hands — they will reach the CEO’s desk. 

Additionally, candidates don’t need prior AI experience to throw their hat in the ring; Musk is confident that “smart humans figure it out fast.” There is one major catch: Applicants must email the company three concise bullet points that clearly prove “exceptional ability.” Musk plans to “personally” review all emails himself.  

“If you’ve made a very complex thing do useful work, that’s a major plus,” Musk wrote in an X post. 

Musk’s request for three bullet points is consistent with his ask for previous roles at his other companies. For example, in January, as Tesla stepped up work on its in-house AI chip, Musk put out a call for highly technical talent, offering salaries of up to $318,000. Instead of asking for resumes or cover letters, he told interested candidates to email the company three bullet points describing the hardest technical problems they had ever tackled and how they solved them.

The tech talent wars rage on

SpaceX’s latest hiring initiative is also an indicator that the tech talent wars are stronger than ever. According to a February study by global talent platform Second Talent, there are 1.6 million open AI roles globally in 2026, with only 518,000 qualified candidates to fill them. The imbalance keeps competition intense and salaries elevated. 

SpaceX’s push to recruit engineers and scientists fits directly into that environment, where labs, startups and big tech companies are all chasing the same small pool of talent. 

Musk merged SpaceX with his AI startup, xAI, earlier this year, creating the most valuable private company in the world, valued at $1.25 trillion. Previously, the two companies had operated as standalone entities. 

After several xAI cofounders left the company this year, Musk said in March that he planned to personally dig back through its interview pipeline and reconnect with people who had previously come close, but didn’t get hired. He wrote in an X post that he would be “reaching back out to promising candidates” who might have slipped through the cracks the first time around. 

SpaceX took a major step toward going public on Wednesday by submitting its S-1 registration to regulators, with trading expected to begin in June, per Business Insider. Based on its plans to raise between $75 billion and $85 billion in capital, the company is targeting a valuation of $1.5 to $2 trillion.