'I have never ...', says Elon Musk on resignation of Kairan Quazi, the engineer who joined SpaceX when he was 14 years

Elon Musk has responded to the resignation of his teen prodigy

Kairan Quazi

from his space company SpaceX. “First time I’ve ever heard of him,” the tech billionaire wrote on X (formerly Twitter). Kairan Quazi joined SpaceX in 2023 when was 14. A “rare company,” Quazi then said, which didn’t use his age as an “arbitrary and outdated proxy for maturity and ability.” His departure from SpaceX marks a shift from aerospace to the fast-paced world of quantitative finance, where he will join

Citadel Securities

in New York as a developer.In an interview with Business Insider, Quazi said, “After two years at SpaceX, I felt ready to take on new challenges and expand my skill set into a different high-performance environment.”"Quant finance offers a pretty rare combination: the complexity and intellectual challenge that AI research also provides, but with a much faster pace," Quazi explained to Business Insider. "At Citadel Securities, I'll be able to see measurable impact in days, not months or years."

Who is Kairan Quazi

As mentioned above, Kairan Quazi is a 16-year-old prodigy who became the youngest graduate in the 170-year history of Santa Clara University, completing his degree in computer science and engineering at just 14. Soon after, he joined Elon Musk’s SpaceX as a software engineer, working on the Starlink project to improve satellite internet accuracy.

When Kairan Quazi slammed LinkedIn

In 2023, Quazi slammed

LinkedIn

as “primitive” for considering him too young for the platform. He then shared an Instagram post with a screenshot of a message from LinkedIn informing him his account had been restricted. “We’re excited by your enthusiasm, energy, and focus. We can’t wait to see what you do in the world,” the message read, adding “Because you currently do not meet the age eligibility criteria to join, we have restricted your account.” “You are welcome back on the platform once you turn 16 or older,” the message continued. Criticizing the professional networking platform, the 16-year-old then argued that “tests are not used to measure mastery, but the ability to regurgitate” adding “Age, privilege, and unconscious (sometimes even conscious) biases are used to gatekeep opportunities”.