Key Takeaways
- Elon Musk and Sam Altman engaged in a heated public argument on social media.
- The spat involved accusations about OpenAI’s non-profit status and a delayed Tesla car refund.
- OpenAI is valued at $500 billion, while Musk’s xAI is valued at $200 billion.
Elon Musk and Sam Altman have escalated their long-standing rivalry into a bitter public confrontation, exchanging sharp accusations on social media regarding AI competition and a delayed Tesla car refund.
The Social Media Exchange
The conflict began when OpenAI CEO Sam Altman posted about waiting 7.5 years for his Tesla car and receiving an incomplete $45,000 refund despite full payment.
Elon Musk responded sharply: “You stole a non-profit,” referencing Altman’s “A tale of three facts” post on X.
Altman fired back: “I helped the thing you left for dead into what should be the largest non-profit ever.” He added, “You know as well as anyone that a structure like what OpenAI has now is required to make that happen.”
Deeper Accusations Surface
Altman further accused Musk of attempting to take over OpenAI and wanting “no non-profit at all.” He claimed Musk had told him there was a 0% chance of success for the company.
“Now you have a great AI company, and so do we. Can’t we all just move on?” Altman questioned.
Musk’s Final Response
After initially stopping responses, Musk returned to address the Tesla refund issue: “And you forgot to mention Act 4, where this issue was fixed and you received a refund within 24 hours.”
AI Company Valuations and Offerings
OpenAI is currently valued at $500 billion and is preparing for a 2026 IPO that could raise its valuation to $1 trillion. The company offers ChatGPT, Sora, Whisper, and coding agents.
Meanwhile, Musk’s xAI is valued at approximately $200 billion and provides Grok, Grokipedia, and Grok Imagine.
