OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Tesla CEO Elon Musk have clashed online again. The two figures who lead the AI innovation and electric vehicle industries respectively, have a long-standing rivalry. This time, they sparred over Tesla’s delayed vehicle launches and OpenAI’s shift to a for-profit model.
According to posts on X from Altman and Musk on Monday, Altman published three email screenshots on October 30. The images showed his 2018 order confirmation for the new Tesla Roadster, followed by a recent email to the same address requesting a cancellation and a 45,000 USD refund. Altman expressed his frustration, stating, “I really was excited for the car! And I understand delays. But 7.5 years has felt like a long time to wait.”
Tesla unveiled the second-generation Roadster in 2017, promising a 2020 release. However, the launch has been postponed for over five years. Musk responded to Altman’s post with a biting comment: “You stole a non-profit.” This was a sharp criticism of OpenAI, which started as a non-profit organization but later transitioned to a for-profit structure. Musk added, “And you forgot to mention act 4, where this issue was fixed and you received a refund within 24 hours. But that is in your nature.”
Altman swiftly countered, “I helped turn the thing you left for dead into what should be the largest non-profit ever. You know as well as anyone a structure like what Openai has now is required to make that happen.” He continued, “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?”
Musk, an initial investor in OpenAI’s 2015 founding, resigned from the board and divested his shares in 2018. Following OpenAI’s global success with ChatGPT, Musk filed a lawsuit last year, alleging that Altman had breached nonprofit commitments and investor agreements, seeking to block the company’s for-profit transition.
In response, OpenAI filed a countersuit, calling Musk’s actions as a malicious attempt to impede its growth. Both companies are now set for a jury trial in March of next year.
