Musk Picks Morgan Stanley Vet As xAI CFO

Elon Musk has reportedly tapped ex-Morgan Stanley banker Anthony Armstrong to serve as xAI’s CFO.

That’s according to a report late Monday (Oct. 6) by the Financial Times (FT), which notes that this is the latest executive shake-up at the artificial intelligence (AI) company.

According to the report, Armstrong advised Musk on his takeover of Twitter, since rebranded as X, and has become one of the billionaire’s key allies, including during his tenure with the Trump administration.

Armstrong will oversee finances for xAI and X, several sources familiar with the matter told the FT. The two companies merged in March, and are valued at $113 billion.

“xAI and X’s futures are intertwined,” Musk said at the time. “Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent. This combination will unlock immense potential by blending xAI’s advanced AI capability and expertise with X’s massive reach.”

One of the FT’s sources said Armstrong has been working with xAI for several weeks and was formally named chief financial officer of the company in recent days. The FT report points out that his X account now features an xAI logo by his name, a sign that he is an employee.

Armstrong will also take over the duties of X’s chief financial officer Mahmoud Reza Banki, who is stepping down after less than a year in the role, sources told the FT.

Musk has been dealing with a number of departures from senior executives of late. Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, stepped down in July after two years in her role.

Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that former CFO Mike Liberatore had also resigned in July after three months on the job.

Also this summer, xAI co-founder Igor Babuschkin announced he was leaving the company to start a venture capital operation, while xAI General Counsel Robert Keele said in August that he was stepping down to spend more time with his children. xAI Senior Lawyer Raghu Rao resigned around the same time.

In other xAI news, the company recently began giving U.S. government agencies access to its Grok AI model, charging 42 cents per agency for 18 months.

With this offering, xAI joins the ranks of several other AI companies, including Google, OpenAI and Anthropic, which have introduced programs aimed at the public sector.