Musk and Altman trade scam claims as AI rivalry intensifies
The OpenAI and SpaceXAI chiefs revived a bitter feud after Apple sued OpenAI over alleged trade-secret theft.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
3 min read
Elon Musk and Sam Altman escalated their public fight over the weekend, accusing each other of misleading investors and stealing ideas as their companies compete for money and status in artificial intelligence. The dispute adds fresh tension to a rivalry between OpenAI and SpaceXAI as both companies pitch investors on ambitious AI plans, Fortune reported.
The latest exchange began after Apple filed a lawsuit Friday against OpenAI and two former Apple employees who joined the AI company. Apple alleged the employees took trade secrets that would help OpenAI build its hardware business, according to Fortune.
OpenAI denied Apple’s allegations, telling multiple outlets it “has no interest in other companies’ trade secrets.” Musk responded on X by attacking Altman, writing, “Scam Altman strikes again,” and then replying to other posts with further accusations that Altman was engaged in scamming, according to posts cited by Fortune.
Altman replied Saturday on X that Musk was “the one sellling [sic] public market investors on short-term space datacenters.” Musk answered by saying SpaceXAI would begin flying orbital data centers next year, and accused Altman of stealing OpenAI and Apple technology, according to Fortune.
Old dispute over OpenAI’s mission
Musk and Altman helped start OpenAI in 2015 with several other cofounders. Fortune reported that the group launched it as a nonprofit research lab meant to develop artificial intelligence for broad public benefit without pressure to produce financial returns.
The relationship later broke down. Fortune reported that Musk believed OpenAI was falling behind, proposed taking control in 2018 and considered folding it into Tesla after investing tens of millions of dollars and pledging about $1 billion over several years.
Altman and other early OpenAI leaders rejected Musk’s takeover plan, Fortune reported. Musk then left the board and withdrew pledged funding, and later led a group of investors that offered $97.4 billion to buy the company.
The feud moved into court after ChatGPT’s 2022 release turned OpenAI into one of the most prominent AI startups. Musk sued OpenAI and Altman in 2024, alleging they had abandoned the organization’s founding nonprofit purpose by creating for-profit affiliates and prioritizing commercial returns, according to Fortune.
Musk sought $150 billion in damages for a charitable trust and asked for OpenAI’s for-profit structure to be unwound, Fortune reported. OpenAI argued in a company blog post that Musk turned against the organization only after it rejected his bid for control, and said Musk had told OpenAI its chance of success was zero while planning a rival AI effort at Tesla.
A jury in May rejected Musk’s case on statute-of-limitations grounds, according to Fortune. Musk has said he will appeal.
Competing AI companies
The personal clash now sits inside a broader corporate contest. Musk launched xAI in 2023 and released its Grok large language model that year, Fortune reported.
Earlier this year, SpaceX acquired xAI and later renamed itself SpaceXAI, positioning AI as central to its business prospects and valuation, according to Fortune. SpaceX then went public in June in what Fortune described as a record-setting IPO, the same month OpenAI confidentially filed for its own IPO.
The companies also released competing AI models last week. Fortune reported that OpenAI released GPT-5.6 Sol one day after SpaceXAI announced Grok 4.5.
Altman wrote on X that many benchmarks suggested GPT-5.6 Sol was the world’s best model, but added that “the most reliable way to tell is that elon is obsessed with me again,” according to Fortune.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.