Elon Musk and Sam Altman criticize each other in new articles on X, highlighting the multi-billion dollar dispute over the evolution of OpenAI.
Musk and Altman helped launch OpenAI in 2015 as a nonprofit artificial intelligence research lab alongside a team of engineers and scientists.
In 2018, Musk left OpenAI’s board after donating tens of millions to the organization, although he later opposed Altman’s efforts to create an “invisible web of companies affiliated with OpenAI” in a lawsuit that went to court in California this year. The judge ruled in Altman’s favor, and Musk said he would appeal the case.
Weeks later, Musk’s company SpaceX — which controls the X social media platform, the OpenAI-challenging xAI lab and Starlink broadband internet service — completed its historic initial public offering. SpaceX has raised a record $75 billion as it promotes plans to launch data centers in space, in addition to business ambitions for AI and interplanetary travel. Meanwhile, OpenAI filed for its IPO privately.
This week, SpaceX released the Grok 4.5 generative AI model, while OpenAI released its own GPT-5.6 Sol. For days, Musk and Altman have been celebrating their release, but on Saturday the rivalry got personal.
In response to a post about an apple filing a lawsuit against OpenAI on Friday for allegedly stealing trade secrets, Musk wrote, “The Altman scam has struck again…”
I Tesla and the CEO of SpaceX used the moniker “Scam Altman” to refer to the CEO of OpenAI several times in the past year. Minutes after his post, Musk doubled down, writing, “You’re taking fraud to a new level.”
Next, Musk posted a photo of Altman along with the words, “I do this because I love you.”
“By this” you mean you’re cheating,” Musk wrote, including two rolling down emojis.
Musk then responded to the post, writing, “He may love to cheat more than anyone alive!”
The entertainment frenzy got Altman’s attention.
“[H]omeboy is the one selling public market investors on short-term datacenters,” Altman wrote in his X post that has received more than 11 million views.
“We’re starting to fly them in next year. Maybe you can come and see them if your parole officer agrees,” said Musk.
Separately, Altman placed Musk’s new attention in the context of the release of the new OpenAI model.
“[T]”Here are many benchmarks that suggest the 5.6 sol is the best model in the world right now, but the most reliable way to say that Elon has me hooked again,” Altman wrote in X.
Elsewhere on X, the account @iliketeslas asserted that Altman is afraid of Apple. That, in turn, prompted a response from Altman.
“[I] I’m not afraid of apple, but I respect them a lot. s-tier company,” Altman wrote.
Altman’s post prompted Nikita Bier, X’s head of product, to respond: “Amazing trade secrets, some of the best.”
Musk responded with a happy face and tears emoji.
On Friday, an OpenAI spokesperson told CNBC, “We are not interested in other companies’ trade secrets.”
WATCH: Elon Musk lost the court battle against Sam Altman, OpenAI
