Elon Musk mocks AI companies as “the opposite of their names”; calls OpenAI “closed” and Claude “evil”; Aravind Srinivas replies Perplexity will get simpler

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Elon Musk has mocked several leading artificial-intelligence companies by claiming they ultimately become the opposite of what their names imply. His comments, posted on X, drew a direct public response from Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas, who used the moment to reinforce the company’s product direction.

What Elon Musk said

In his post, Musk argued that the long-term trajectory of AI companies contradicts their branding.

He wrote that:

“OpenAI is closed”

“Stability is unstable”

“MidJourney isn’t mid”

“Anthropic is misanthropic”

and added “Claude is pure evil.”

Musk framed this as a predictable pattern rather than an isolated critique:

“As expected, any given AI company will be the opposite of its name.”

 Aravind Srinivas responds

Perplexity’s CEO Aravind Srinivas replied in the same thread by reframing the critique as a positive challenge. In his response he wrote:

“Axiomatically, Perplexity is going to get simpler, more minimalistic, and less confusing over time. I will take that!”

Srinivas’ comment implies that Perplexity intends to evolve in the opposite direction — not toward complexity or brand irony, but toward clarity and reduction of user friction as the product matures.

The wider debate

The exchange highlights a broader narrative in AI: the gap between brand philosophy and eventual operational reality. Musk’s comments suggest AI firms drift toward opacity, concentration of control, and emergent behaviors that contradict their founding language. Srinivas’ reply positions Perplexity as attempting to resist that drift by simplifying rather than compounding complexity.

The interaction also shows how public leaders in AI are using live social commentary both to criticise rivals and to signal product intent in real time, turning naming critiques into statements of strategy.