The public spat began last week when Altman posted a screenshot of a July 2018 email confirming a USD 45,000 payment to reserve a next-generation Tesla Roadster. In a separate screenshot, he showed requesting a $50,000 refund, and the email bounced back.
The rift between Elon Musk and Sam Altman became public when OpenAI’s CEO flagged a payment issue related to a Tesla Roadster, which escalated to a dispute over OpenAI’s transition from a non-profit to a for-profit entity. Tesla CEO went on to accuse Altman of ‘stealing a non-profit organisation’ and Altman countered with ‘Can’t we just all move on?’
Sam Altman vs Elon Musk on X
The public spat began last week when Altman posted a screenshot of a July 2018 email confirming a USD 45,000 payment to reserve a next-generation Tesla Roadster. In a separate screenshot, he showed requesting a $50,000 refund, and the email bounced back. In response, Musk fired back, saying, “You stole a non-profit,” and added, “And you forgot to mention act 4, where this issue was fixed and you received a refund within 24 hours.”
On Musk’s accusation, Altman countered, stating he had contributed to developing what was intended to become the largest non-profit ever. He further alleged that Musk had previously expressed interest in Tesla acquiring OpenAI entirely. “I helped turn the thing you left for dead into what should be the largest non-profit ever. You know as well as anyone that a structure like what OpenAI has now is required to make that happen,” he said. “You also wanted Tesla to take OpenAI over, no nonprofit at all. And you said we had a 0% of success. Now you have a great AI company, and so do we. Can’t we all just move on?” he added.
OpenAI’s structural transformation
For the context, Elon Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 with Sam Altman but left the board in 2018. Musk now criticises OpenAI’s shift from non-profit to profit-driven, calling it a betrayal of its original mission. The feud escalated with Musk’s $97.4 billion bid to acquire OpenAI, which Altman rejected.
Musk went on to establish xAI in 2023, while Altman remains CEO of OpenAI. Since 2015, OpenAI’s growth has been remarkable, helped significantly by the launch of its generative chatbot ChatGPT in 2022. Still, Musk has not shied away from criticising the company and Altman.“OpenAI was created as an open source (which is why I named it ‘Open’ AI), non-profit company to serve as a counterweight to Google, but now it has become a closed source, maximum-profit company effectively controlled by Microsoft. Not what I intended at all,” Musk had written in a 2023 post on X.
That’s not all, Musk has reportedly pursued legal action against OpenAI and Altman, alleging that Altman and Brockman “deceived” Musk into co-founding the startup by emphasising his concerns over AI.
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