Musk and Altman Engage in Heated Exchange Amid Apple Lawsuit
Elon Musk, the creator of Tesla and SpaceX, and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, found themselves in a fiery dispute over the weekend, reigniting an old rivalry after Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, claiming the company stole trade secrets.
On Saturday, Musk took to X to respond to news of Apple’s lawsuit against Altman. He remarked, “Fraud Altman strikes again…,” using a nickname that’s stuck with Altman for years.
Shortly after, Musk didn’t hold back and posted again, declaring, “He has taken fraud to a whole new level.”
Continuing his attack, Musk shared images of Altman accompanied by the caption, “I’m doing this because I love it,” clarifying that “this” refers to fraud.
Musk added, “He literally may love fraud more than any other person alive!” His barrage of posts indicated a deeper frustration.
Altman, seemingly unfazed, used the moment to take a jab at Musk’s ventures. He commented on last month’s record IPO for SpaceX, while OpenAI also seeks to file for its own IPO.
In response to Musk, Altman remarked, “[H]Omeboy, you’re selling it. Open market investors in short-term space data centers,” which gained roughly 15 million views.
Musk countered with a playful challenge, saying, “Starting flying next year. If my parole officer lets me, I might be able to come see you. After stealing an open source AI charity, you stole all of Apple’s cell phone technology! That’s amazing. What’s Encore planning? That’s hard to beat.”
In its lawsuit, Apple alleges that OpenAI is “stealing Apple’s trade secrets at every level.” The complaint details an incident where a junior employee used another employee’s login credentials to access Apple’s servers.
Moreover, Apple claims that Tan Tan, the head of OpenAI hardware and a former Apple executive for 24 years, solicited confidential information from Apple employees during interviews. It’s alleged that he encouraged them to bring “actual parts” to show during job discussions.
This lawsuit recalls Apple’s own historical legal battles, particularly against Google’s Android a decade ago, where Steve Jobs famously declared a “thermonuclear war” over what he deemed stolen products.
Before, Apple had accused Samsung of copying the iPhone, which led to prolonged legal disputes, though they eventually settled in 2018.
Amid this back-and-forth, Altman promoted OpenAI’s new chatbot, stating that last week they unveiled GPT-5.6 Sol while Musk released Grok 4.5.
Altman remarked, “[T]There are plenty of benchmarks here that suggest the 5.6 sol is the best model in the world right now, but the most reliable way to go is that Elon is hooked on me again.”
Additionally, Altman responded to a Tesla fan account that claimed OpenAI executives were afraid of Apple, saying, “[I] apples aren’t scary but I have a lot of respect for them. S layer company.”
“We have incredible trade secrets, some of them the best,” noted Nikita Beer, OpenAI’s head of product.
Musk and Altman’s relationship began in 2015 when they co-founded OpenAI as a nonprofit. However, over the years, they transitioned from working together to being rivals as Musk took legal action against OpenAI.
After donating millions to various nonprofits, Musk left OpenAI’s board in 2018. He later filed a lawsuit against the organization for trying to operate as a for-profit entity, believing it would remain nonprofit.
The jury sided with Altman and OpenAI, but Musk has announced intentions to appeal.
Tensions continued to rise when Musk recruited staff from OpenAI, while pressuring for a merger between Tesla and OpenAI, which ultimately didn’t happen.
After OpenAI rejected his proposal, Musk ceased his financial contributions to the company.
Last summer, Musk filed a lawsuit against both Apple and OpenAI, claiming they colluded to undermine Grok’s placement in app rankings. That case is still active and hasn’t yet been heard in court.
