Is Sam Altman open to ending feud with Elon Musk?
What's the story
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is ready to bury the hatchet with Elon Musk. The two tech moguls have a complicated history; they co-founded OpenAI but are now rivals in the same field. Just recently, they had a public spat over their previous criticism of Donald Trump. The feud started when Musk shared a tweet from Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham, praising Altman's efforts against Trump. Graham wrote, "Few have done more than Sam Altman to defeat Trump."
Resolution
Altman acknowledges past mistakes, proposes friendship
In response to Musk's tweet, Altman conceded their earlier criticisms were misplaced. He wrote, "We were both wrong, or at least I certainly was but that was from 2016 and this was from 2022." Additionally, he offered an olive branch to Musk by proposing they could rekindle their friendship. He tweeted: "Anyway, see you next week, let's be friends. AGI [is] too important to let a lil feud get in the way."
Twitter Post
Take a look at Altman's post
anyway, see you next week, let’s be friends
— Sam Altman (@sama) May 10, 2025
🥺
👉👈
agi too important to let a lil feud get in the way
Political alignments
Musk's support for Trump and Altman's AI initiatives
Musk has always been a staunch Trump supporter, even getting appointed by the latter to run the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Meanwhile, Altman has also aligned with the US government. He was a contributor to Project Stargate, a $500 billion project to improve AI infrastructure in the US. Despite their political differences, both tech leaders are now looking at AGI as a shared goal.
Rivalry escalates
Musk's criticism of OpenAI and formation of xAI
Having left OpenAI in 2018, Musk has been vocal in his criticism of the AI start-up, right after ChatGPT debuted in 2022. He accused OpenAI of becoming a "closed source, maximum-profit company effectively controlled by Microsoft," after OpenAI's partnership with the latter. In response to this rivalry, Musk launched his own AI company, xAI, in 2023. The new venture is home to Grok, a ChatGPT rival.
Legal battles
OpenAI's response to Musk's criticism and lawsuit
Musk has filed multiple lawsuits against OpenAI, questioning its partnership with Microsoft and more. The latest one sought to stop OpenAI's for-profit restructuring. Dismissing Musk as an overzealous competitor at first, OpenAI has now reversed its position under pressure from AI experts, former employees, and attorneys general of several states. This week, it was revealed that while the for-profit division would be spun off into a public benefit corporation (PBC), control would remain with the non-profit entity.