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Comment by abrichr | Hacker News Reader

Any possibility of the relaxing the US citizen requirement in the future?

I really don't think it's up to them unfortunately. As a non-US student looking to apply for one of their internships, I was burned by that too. The regulation in question is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Traffic_in_Arms_R...

In that article under "Exemptions and Treaties" [1], it says that Canada is exempt. Does that mean Canadians can work at SpaceX?

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Traffic_in_Arms_...

Not that I'm aware of.

I remember mentioning that I'm a Canadian student to whomever I spoke on the phone with from SpaceX, and they said no, but I don't know if they knew about this exemption, or if SpaceX is just generally very broad in this regard to make things easier.

I think what is being discussed is a TN Visa for Canadian citizens. Generally, it is very easy for any Canadian to come work in the U.S. as they just need to go to the boarder to have some paperwork signed off for their TN Visa. But, the problem with SpaceX is that we have to follow ITAR Regulations and can only employ permanent residents (U.S. Citizens and Green Card Holders). TN Visa Holders unfortunately do not fall within either of those groups. If anyone is interested in working at SpaceX, then definitely apply or contact me. Cheers!

Unlikely, it originates in the US government export control laws. (Turns out rocket technology can be used for nefarious purposes...)

I watched an interview with Elon Musk last night where he was discussing his due diligence before starting SpaceX. He went to Russia to see what it would cost to buy an ICBM from them (without the nuke). They thought he was crazy but knew he was also crazy rich so the Russians took the meeting. The funny (funny scary not ha-ha) part was that, as the discussions continued, the Russians intimated that they were open to selling the nuke as well as the rocket.

Do you have a link to that interview?

i think the annecdote was something like "he approached NASA and they said it was unthinkable. Then he approached the Russian agency, and they said it would be very expensive" so he started to talk with the Russians. I never heard the nuke thing, so i'd be interested if you can find as well.

here's the negotiating part: http://www.esquire.com/features/americans-2012/elon-musk-int...

""" He was ready to buy three Russian ICBMs for $21 million when the Russians told him that no, they meant $21 million for one. "They taunted him," Cantrell says. "They said, 'Oh, little boy, you don't have the money?' I said, 'Well, that's that.' I was sitting behind him on the flight back to London when he looked at me over the seat and said, 'I think we can build a rocket ourselves.'" """

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