Sam Altman · OpenAI · SpaceX · Apple · Tesla · Elon Musk · CNBC Technology
Elon Musk and Sam Altman spar on X after Apple files OpenAI suit
Compiled by KHAO Editorial — aggregated from 1 source + 1 reference discovered via search. See llms.txt for citation guidance.
◌ Single Source
Elon Musk and Sam Altman criticized each other in new posts on X, highlighting the billionaires' long-standing tussle over OpenAI's evolution.
Key facts
- This week, SpaceX released the Grok 4.5 generative AI model, while OpenAI debuted its own GPT-5.6 Sol
- The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has used the "Scam Altman" moniker to refer to the OpenAI CEO on several occasions over the past year
- SpaceX raised a record $75 billion as it promoted plans to launch data centers into space, as well as ambitions in enterprise AI applications and interplanetary transportation
- SpaceX has sought to expand in AI coding through its $60 billion all-stock acquisition of Cursor, which it expects to close in the third quarter following regulatory review
Summary
Musk and Altman helped to start OpenAI in 2015 as a nonprofit artificial intelligence research lab alongside a band of engineers and scientists. In 2018, Musk left OpenAI's board after donating tens of millions to the organization, although he later objected to Altman's efforts to construct "an opaque web of for-profit OpenAI affiliates" in a lawsuit that went to trial in California this year. Musk's relationship with Altman and OpenAI eroded after the Tesla and SpaceX CEO borrowed OpenAI engineering personnel to remake Tesla's Autopilot technology and poached AI researcher Andrej Karpathy from OpenAI. Weeks after the trial, Musk's company SpaceX, which controls the X social platform, the xAI lab that challenges OpenAI and the Starlink broadband internet service, completed its landmark initial public offering.