Musk, Altman Trade 'Scamming' Claims After Apple Sues OpenAI Over 2 Ex-Employees

3 articles · Updated · Fortune · Jul 13

Apple's lawsuit against OpenAI and two former Apple employees reignited the Musk-Altman feud, with Musk calling Altman a serial scammer and accusing OpenAI of stealing technology.
Altman answered on X by saying Musk was the one pitching public investors on short-term space data centers, prompting Musk to tout orbital data centers that he said would start flying next year.
The clash revives a dispute dating to OpenAI's 2015 founding, Musk's failed 2018 bid to take control, and his later claims that Altman betrayed the nonprofit mission.
A jury in May threw out Musk's 2024 lawsuit seeking $150 billion over OpenAI's for-profit structure, though Musk has said he will appeal.
The latest barbs land as OpenAI and Musk's SpaceXAI race for AI leadership, with OpenAI rolling out GPT-5.6 Sol after SpaceXAI unveiled Grok 4.5 and both companies pursuing IPO-era investor support.