‘People have been trying for…’ Satya Nadella’s reply to Elon Musk’s OpenAI will eat Microsoft alive comment

Elon Musk, Satya Nadella

The launch of OpenAI’s GPT-5 on Thursday set off a fresh wave of tech rivalry — and some sharp words from industry heavyweights.

Soon after the announcement, Elon Musk took to X, declaring, “OpenAI is going to eat Microsoft alive.” The jab wasn’t entirely out of left field — Musk has frequently criticised OpenAI despite its close partnership with Microsoft, which has invested billions in the company and integrated its models into products like Copilot.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, however, opted for a more diplomatic — if subtly pointed — response. Quoting Musk’s post, Nadella wrote, “People have been trying for 50 years and that’s the fun of it! Each day you learn something new, and innovate, partner, and compete. Excited for Grok 4 on Azure and looking forward to Grok 5!”

Nadella’s mention of Grok, Musk’s AI chatbot under his company xAI, was notable — especially the hint that the next version, Grok 5, will run on Microsoft’s Azure cloud. It suggests that, despite public sparring, there’s still a commercial overlap between the two leaders’ ventures.

The exchange quickly went viral, with some users framing it as light-hearted banter between tech titans, while others saw it as a sign of intensifying competition in the AI arms race. GPT-5’s debut has been widely discussed for its improved reasoning, faster responses, and better integration across tools — advances that could further cement OpenAI’s lead in the AI space.

For Musk, who is pushing to grow Grok into a viable rival, the challenge is clear: match or outpace OpenAI’s rapid iteration cycle. For Nadella, it’s about keeping Microsoft at the centre of AI’s biggest breakthroughs.