Elon Musk is known for his playful public persona, often sharing memes and quirky posts on social media. That fun streak extends to his workplaces, including his AI startup xAI, where he reportedly makes bold bets with employees. According to Sulaiman Khan, a technical team member at xAI, Musk once promised a brand-new Tesla Cybertruck as a reward for completing a single 24-hour task.
Khan revealed in an interview that work culture at xAI involves a mix of challenges, “war stories, and bets,” with Musk actively participating. The story revolves around a colleague named Tyler, who took on a challenge shortly after the team received a new batch of GPUs. Musk offered a simple condition: get a training run on the new GPUs completed within 24 hours, and a Cybertruck would be his.
Elon reportedly said, “Okay, you get a Cybertruck tonight if you can get a training run on these GPUs uh in 24 hours.” Tyler successfully completed the task before the deadline. Khan confirmed, “Yeah, he got it [Cybertruck]. I see it from our lunch window.”
The Tesla Cybertruck, one of Musk’s favourite vehicles, starts at $79,900 in the US for the All-Wheel Drive version, which is roughly Rs 72.5 lakh. Higher variants can exceed $125,000 or about Rs 1.13 crore.
The 24-hour task involved running a training process on GPUs. This means using powerful graphics processors to execute machine learning models on large datasets. GPUs provide much higher processing power than standard CPUs, making them critical for AI firms. Musk’s bet highlights the importance of quickly utilising new GPU resources to advance AI work.
AI servers often house billions of dollars’ worth of GPUs, a factor that has contributed to the rapid growth of companies like NVIDIA over the past year. Musk’s unconventional approach shows how high-stakes incentives can blend work and play in the fast-moving AI industry.
Also read: Viksit Workforce for a Viksit Bharat
Do Follow: The Mainstream formerly known as CIO News LinkedIn Account | The Mainstream formerly known as CIO News Facebook | The Mainstream formerly known as CIO News Youtube | The Mainstream formerly known as CIO News Twitter
About us:
The Mainstream is a premier platform delivering the latest updates and informed perspectives across the technology business and cyber landscape. Built on research-driven, thought leadership and original intellectual property, The Mainstream also curates summits & conferences that convene decision makers to explore how technology reshapes industries and leadership. With a growing presence in India and globally across the Middle East, Africa, ASEAN, the USA, the UK and Australia, The Mainstream carries a vision to bring the latest happenings and insights to 8.2 billion people and to place technology at the centre of conversation for leaders navigating the future.
