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Benjamin De Kraker, an AI engineer, has resigned from xAI, the artificial intelligence company founded by Elon Musk, after being asked to delete a tweet he described as a “harmless personal opinion.”
Announcing his resignation on X (formerly Twitter), De Kraker revealed that he was given an ultimatum: remove the tweet or face termination. “I resigned from xAI tonight. It makes me very sad, but was the right thing to do—and here’s why,” he wrote.
The Tweet That Led to His Exit
The tweet in question ranked various AI models based on De Kraker’s personal assessment. Among them, he included “Grok 3 (TBD),” referencing xAI’s upcoming AI model. According to De Kraker, the company deemed this a breach of confidentiality.
“I wish I was joking. I’m not. That’s the reason—the fact that I wrote ‘Grok 3 (TBD)’ is grounds for being fired,” he explained.
However, De Kraker argued that both xAI and Musk had publicly acknowledged Grok 3’s development on multiple occasions. To support his claim, he shared official posts from both the company and Musk discussing the model.
“Again, their official demand said that even writing ‘Grok 3 – TBD’ is somehow ‘confidential information.’ This is absolutely absurd, since it’s repeatedly been acknowledged by the company and its famous CEO,” he wrote.
Benjamin De Kraker Expresses Disillusionment with xAI’s Free Speech Stance
De Kraker expressed disappointment that a company that champions free speech would take such action over a clearly labeled opinion.
“It’s very disappointing to me that a company and leaders who supposedly champion free speech and openness would try to fire a low-level employee over a clearly labeled opinion that contains absolutely nothing controversial, but here we are,” he said.
Despite his frustration, De Kraker wished xAI and Musk success, praising the team he worked with. “The specific feature of Grok I spent the majority of my time working on with a really hard-working team is very cool, and I hope it works extremely well for everyone,” he noted.
He also clarified that while he would not reveal specifics about his work at xAI, this was because “that would be actual confidential information.”
Benjamin De Kraker Stands for Personal Expression
In the end, De Kraker stood by his decision to resign rather than compromise on his right to express a personal opinion.
“I thought about just deleting the damn thing… But you know, once you start caving and giving up holding mild personal opinions, the slope becomes very slippery. I’ll keep my speech and dignity and get another job, or build one. Catch ya on the flip side.”
