From friends to foes: The Elon Musk and Sam Altman confrontation

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What lies behind the confrontation between Elon Musk and Sam Altman

Disagreements and the first conflict

Initially, Musk and Altman worked together. OpenAI quickly gained momentum, attracting talented researchers and securing financial support. However, by 2017, it became clear that developing powerful AI required enormous computing resources.

According to emails published in an OpenAI blog post, both Altman and Musk agreed that the company would need to transition to a commercial model to secure funding for its next stage. However, they had fundamentally different views on how to achieve this.

Musk proposed taking control of OpenAI, investing billions, and merging the startup with Tesla, but his offer was rejected. Frustrated, he left the company in 2018, withdrew funding, and claimed that OpenAI had abandoned its ideals.

Escalation of the conflict: ChatGPT, Grok, and a war of words

After Musk's departure, OpenAI changed its structure, becoming a commercial organization. This allowed it to attract multi-billion-dollar investments, including a strategic partnership with Microsoft. Altman justified this move as essential for growth and technological advancement, while Musk saw it as a betrayal of OpenAI’s original mission.

At the end of 2022, OpenAI released ChatGPT, sparking a revolution in AI. Musk had mixed reactions—initially praising the technology but later launching harsh criticism against OpenAI, accusing it of imposing censorship and programming AI with ideological biases. In 2023, he founded xAI and introduced his chatbot, Grok, which was marketed as an «unrestricted alternative.»

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Since then, their public clashes have become regular occurrences. Altman and Musk have frequently taken jabs at each other on social media, but the rivalry peaked in February 2025 when Musk attempted to acquire OpenAI for $97.4 billion. Altman responded with sarcasm, suggesting he could buy Twitter for $9.74 billion. Unaccustomed to rejection, Musk called him a «scammer» and accused him of manipulating OpenAI’s business model.

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Musk’s lawsuit and the Stargate project

In March 2024, Musk sued OpenAI, accusing the company of violating its founding agreement to develop AI for the benefit of humanity and abandoning its open-source principles. Altman and his team dismissed the allegations, arguing that commercialization was necessary for continued technological progress. According to a federal judge, at least part of the case is likely to go to trial in February 2025.

The situation became even more complex when Altman announced Stargate—a large-scale initiative to build powerful data centers for advanced AI models. The project received backing from the U.S. government and Silicon Valley’s top investors.

Musk remained skeptical, suggesting that OpenAI lacked the funding for such an ambitious project. In response, Altman invited him to visit the first Stargate site, which is already under construction.

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What’s next?

The conflict between Altman and Musk is not just a personal feud but a battle between two visions for the future of AI. OpenAI continues to expand its influence through its partnership with Microsoft, while Musk is striving to create a competing system with maximum open-source accessibility. Their rivalry fuels a broader global debate over who should control artificial intelligence.

This technological war is far from over. If OpenAI maintains its dominance, Musk may resort to more aggressive measures, including lawsuits and political pressure. No matter what paths Altman and Musk choose, their competition has already reshaped the future of AI—and this is just the beginning.

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