From OpenAI co-founders to rivals: How Elon Musk and Sam Altman’s relationship fell apart

Sam Altman vs Elon Musk

If tech billionaire Elon Musk could settle his fights in a boxing ring, Sam Altman might be his next opponent. Just like his cage fight challenge to Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Musk’s latest battle with Altman has turned social media into a battlefield. The two tech leaders are at it again. Musk, who has often criticized OpenAI, offered to buy the company for $97.4 billion. But Altman refused and joked that he would buy X (formerly Twitter) for one-tenth of that amount. Musk was not happy and called Altman a swindler and a scammer online.

Their fight has made people compare them to Kendrick Lamar and Drake, two rappers known for their long feud. But Musk and Altman’s rivalry is not new. Their dislike for each other has been growing for years, and this is just the latest chapter in their ongoing battle.

How the feud began

Musk and Altman were once part of the same team and had the same vision. In 2015, they co-founded OpenAI, along with a team of 11 people, to create an alternative to Google’s growing dominance in artificial intelligence. Musk even contributed $45 million to help get OpenAI started.

However, things took a turn in 2018 when Musk left the company. OpenAI initially said Musk’s departure was due to a conflict of interest, as Tesla was becoming more involved in AI for autonomous driving. But later, legal documents revealed another reason—Musk had tried to take control of OpenAI, either by becoming CEO or merging it with Tesla. When his proposals were rejected, he walked away.

For a few years, nobody talked about what went wrong. But in November 2022, OpenAI launched ChatGPT, an AI product that became the fastest growing application in the world. It had registered around 100 million users within the first five days of its launch. The company’s success made Sam Altman a celebrity overnight. Musk, however, was not happy about being left out. He started attacking OpenAI on social media, criticizing its decision to keep its source code private and accusing the company of abandoning its original nonprofit mission.

Musk’s lawsuits against OpenAI

The fight got worse in 2024 when Musk sued OpenAI and its investor, Microsoft. He said OpenAI was more focused on making money than helping the public. Later, he changed the lawsuit to try and stop OpenAI from becoming a for-profit company. Altman, however, believes this change is necessary for OpenAI to grow.

OpenAI started as a nonprofit with a business branch, but running AI models is very expensive. To keep up, the company needs a new structure that lets investors own shares. Government regulators need to approve this change and will check how OpenAI’s nonprofit side is valued in the new setup.

This battle feels personal

Beyond business, this feud seems personal. In a Bloomberg TV interview, Altman suggested that Musk regrets leaving OpenAI, especially since his own AI company, xAI, has struggled to compete despite major investments.

Musk launched GrokAI to compete with OpenAI’s chatbot, ChatGPT. He called his AI platform “anti-woke.” Despite having fewer restrictions than ChatGPT, such as allowing the creation of images of public figures (something ChatGPT does not permit), GrokAI has not gained as many users. Many people find ChatGPT more nuanced and accurate. This is one of the reasons Musk wants to take over his rival company.

“He’s just trying to slow us down. He obviously is a competitor,” Altman said. “I wish he would just compete by building a better product.”

Musk called him a “Swindler” and “Scam Altman” on social media. He even said during an interview with Tucker Carlson that Altman cannot be “trusted” and control of the most powerful AI product should not be with someone who cannot be trusted. However, Altman so far has refrained from using harsh words against him on social media.

“Probably his whole life is from a position of insecurity. I don’t think he’s a happy person. I do feel for him,” Altman said.