Did Elon Musk really intern at Microsoft? Plus: AI agents, job cuts, and an economic warning

This week on the GeekWire Podcast: Satya Nadella’s offhand remark at Microsoft Build, about Elon Musk once interning at Microsoft, sparked a mystery that sent us digging through biographies and transcripts in search of confirmation.

The comment came during a pre-recorded conversation between Nadella and Musk that Microsoft played during the company’s developer conference this week at the Seattle Convention Center. 

Introducing Musk, Nadella said, “I know you started off as an intern at Microsoft. You were a Windows developer, and of course, you’re a big PC gamer.”

On the video, Musk nodded and smiled in response — but didn’t confirm or elaborate on the internship. That was enough to raise questions.

“There is no verifiable evidence to suggest that Musk interned at Microsoft,” said one Windows Forum post, for example. “The conversation between Nadella and Musk likely reflects a misunderstanding or misstatement regarding Musk’s early career.” 

So we started looking into it. Initial searches indicated Musk had interned at Pinnacle Research Institute, Bank of Nova Scotia, and Rocket Science Games, but not Microsoft.

However, a closer read of Walter Isaacson’s 2023 biography of Musk provided a clue, and apparent confirmation. In Chapter 6, Isaacson writes that Elon, shortly after arriving in Canada in 1989, interned in Microsoft’s Toronto office — a detail that supports Nadella’s statement, though it hasn’t been widely discussed elsewhere.

We’re still waiting on the official word from Microsoft. 

Meanwhile, Microsoft’s move to bring Musk’s Grok xAI models to Azure added a new twist to the AI landscape. It came despite public tensions between Musk and Microsoft — including an ongoing lawsuit — underscoring Microsoft’s push to diversify its AI partnerships beyond OpenAI.

We also break down Microsoft’s latest AI initiatives and explore what its agentic ambitions could mean for tech jobs and the broader economy.

Plus, a sharp warning from Microsoft President Brad Smith about Washington state’s commitment to innovation.

RELATED STORIES

• Elon and Satya, together again: Microsoft brings Musk’s xAI models to Azure, despite OpenAI feud
• Microsoft expands AI roster with Anthropic and xAI integrations, looking beyond OpenAI alliance
• Businessweek: Microsoft’s CEO on How AI Will Remake Every Company, Including His
• Washington state cuts back economic development program amid criticism of innovation approach
• ‘We better wake up’: Microsoft’s Brad Smith sounds alarm as state enacts controversial tax plan
• Washington governor approves new business taxes, acknowledges potential ‘unintended consequences’

With GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook. Edited by Curt Milton.