The latest clash between two of tech’s biggest names comes as legal pressure on OpenAI grows and the AI race intensifies.
Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman reignited their long-running rivalry over the weekend after Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing the company of trade secret theft.
The legal dispute quickly spilled onto X, where Musk and Altman traded personal attacks while promoting their latest AI models.
KEY DETAILS
Musk and Altman co-founded OpenAI in 2015, but their relationship has deteriorated over disagreements about the company's direction and its shift toward a for-profit structure.
Musk, who is already appealing a California court ruling that favored Altman in a separate lawsuit against OpenAI, used X to call the OpenAI chief “Scam Altman” and accused him of repeatedly deceiving people.
Altman hit back, suggesting Musk's comments were driven by OpenAI's latest model launch, GPT-5.6 Sol, which he described as potentially “the best model in the world right now.”
The exchange came days after SpaceX unveiled its own Grok 4.5 model. SpaceX recently raised a record $75 billion in its IPO and is expanding its AI ambitions, including a planned $60 billion acquisition of coding startup Cursor.
Meanwhile, OpenAI has confidentially filed for its own initial public offering.
MARKET REACTION
Apple shares closed slightly higher, up 0.04%. Tesla fell 1.04%, while SpaceX's publicly traded tracking shares dropped 0.99%.
The latest dispute also kept investors focused on the growing competition between OpenAI, xAI, Apple, and Anthropic in the fast-moving AI sector.
WHY IT MATTERS
The battle is no longer just about technology. Legal fights, new AI releases, and future IPO plans could reshape the competitive landscape and influence where investors place their bets.
Traders will now watch for developments in Apple's lawsuit, Musk's appeal against OpenAI, and whether the latest AI launches translate into commercial success.
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Source: CNBC
Time: 14:30 PM EEST
