Elon Musk jokes about OpenAI and other AI firms, Perplexity CEO responds with a witty comeback

elon musk

Elon Musk, known for his sharp wit on social media, recently took a dig at leading artificial intelligence companies  including ChatGPT-maker OpenAI  in a humorous post on X (formerly Twitter).

Musk, who also runs xAI, SpaceX, and Tesla, mocked the irony in the names of popular AI firms. “OpenAI is closed, Stability is unstable, MidJourney isn’t mid, Anthropic is misanthropic, Claude is pure evil,” he wrote, sparking a wave of reactions online.

The post came in response to a research report by the Center for AI Safety, which revealed that several large language models (LLMs) assigned different values to human lives depending on nationality. The study claimed that one model valued a Nigerian life around 20 times more than an American one — a finding that has reignited ethical concerns about bias in AI systems.

Joining in on the fun, Perplexity AI CEO Aravind Srinivas responded to Musk’s post with a witty remark about his own company. “Axiomatically, Perplexity is going to get simpler, more minimalistic, and less confusing over time. I will take that!” he wrote. Musk replied, “Probably so,” continuing the light-hearted exchange.

While the conversation was humorous, it also highlighted a serious issue — the growing debate around transparency, fairness, and moral judgment in artificial intelligence. Experts have repeatedly warned that AI models can reflect and amplify the biases present in their training data, leading to distorted or discriminatory outcomes.

Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but later distanced himself from the company, has often criticized its direction and commercialization. He has positioned his own AI startup, xAI, as a more “truth-seeking” alternative.

The online banter may have been playful, but it once again put the spotlight on how the world’s most influential tech leaders use humour to spark conversations about the future — and flaws — of artificial intelligence.