OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk have engaged in a public dispute on X, formerly Twitter, reigniting tensions stemming from past legal disagreements and accusations.
Musk initiated the exchange by posting that Altman "takes scamming to a whole new level." Altman responded by alleging that Musk is "selling public market investors on short-term space data centers." Musk retorted with a jab about flying data centers and suggested Altman might need parole officer approval to visit. He then accused Altman of "stealing an open source AI charity" and "all of Apple's phone technology."
The claim regarding an "open source AI charity" refers to a lawsuit Musk filed earlier this year against Altman and OpenAI. Musk alleged that OpenAI breached its non-profit contract by shifting to a for-profit model, and that he was misled into donating $38 million to the company. An advisory jury ultimately ruled against Musk, citing the statute of limitations.
Regarding the Apple technology allegations, Apple has sued two former employees who subsequently joined OpenAI. Apple claims these individuals illicitly downloaded confidential hardware files, including details on unreleased products and proprietary data, which they then used to aid OpenAI. This forms part of a broader complaint filed by Apple.
The public exchange on X has drawn significant attention, with replies from both supporters of Altman and Musk, as well as various other accusations directed at both figures. The dispute appears to have temporarily subsided, potentially due to legal counsel advising against public commentary. However, the underlying animosity and public nature of their disagreements remain evident.