{"success":true,"data":{"id":"28f3dfce-2c0b-4461-bf88-2750925ad26d","title":"Elon Musk and Sam Altman spar on X after Apple files OpenAI lawsuit","summary":"Key Points A long-standing conflict between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk flared up again on X after Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI for alleged trade secret theft. Altman argued that Musk was obsessed with him because of a new OpenAI model release.","content":"Elon Musk and Sam Altman spar on X after Apple files OpenAI lawsuit\n\nKey Points\n\n*   A long-standing conflict between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk flared up again on X after Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI for alleged trade secret theft.\n*   Altman argued that Musk was obsessed with him because of a new OpenAI model release.\n\nIn this article\n\nFollow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT\n\nElon Musk arrives at federal court in Oakland, Calif., on April 30, 2026. Elon Musk invested in OpenAI early on believing it would be a non-profit, but is now suing OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman for allegedly deceiving him by developing OpenAI into a for-profit company. \n\nBenjamin Fanjoy | Getty Images\n\n[Elon Musk](https://www.cnbc.com/elon-musk/) and [Sam Altman](https://www.cnbc.com/sam-altman/) criticized each other in new posts on X, highlighting the billionaires’ long-standing tussle over OpenAI’s evolution.\n\nMusk and Altman helped to start OpenAI in 2015 as a nonprofit artificial intelligence research lab alongside a band of engineers and scientists.\n\nIn 2018, Musk left OpenAI’s board after donating tens of millions to the organization, although he later objected to Altman’s efforts to construct “an opaque web of for-profit OpenAI affiliates” in a [lawsuit](https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/05/elon-musk-revives-lawsuit-against-openai-sam-altman-in-federal-court.html) that went to [trial](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/12/openai-trial-updates-sam-altman-set-to-testify-in-musk-suit.html) in California this year. A jury ruled in favor of Altman, and Musk said he [would appeal](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/18/musk-altman-openai-trial-verdict.html) the case.\n\nWeeks later, Musk’s company SpaceX — which controls the X social platform, the xAI lab that challenges OpenAI and the Starlink broadband internet service — completed its landmark [initial public offering](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/12/spacex-ipo-spcx-live-updates.html). SpaceX raised a record $75 billion as it promoted plans to launch data centers into space, in addition to ambitions in enterprise AI applications and interplanetary transportation. Meanwhile, OpenAI has [filed confidentially](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/08/openai-confidentially-files-for-ipo-prepping-wall-street-for-ai-debut.html) for its own IPO.\n\nThis week, SpaceX released the Grok 4.5 generative AI model, while OpenAI debuted its own [GPT-5.6 Sol](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/09/open-ai-sam-altman-chatgpt-5-6-sol.html). For days, Musk and Altman have hyped up their respective releases, but on Saturday the rivalry got personal.\n\nIn response to a post about [Apple](https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/AAPL/) filing suit against OpenAI on Friday over [alleged theft](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/10/apple-openai-lawsuit-trade-secrets.html) of trade secrets, Musk [wrote](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2075886243246649406), “Scam Altman strikes again …”\n\nThe [Tesla](https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/TSLA/) and SpaceX CEO has used the “Scam Altman” moniker to refer to the OpenAI CEO on several occasions over the past year. Minutes after his post, Musk [doubled down](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2075892136604573903), writing, “He takes scamming to a whole new level.”\n\nNext, Musk [published a photo](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2075926239848611976) of Altman that included the words, “I’m doing this because I love it.”\n\n“By ‘this’ he means scamming,” Musk wrote, including two rolling-on-the-floor-laughing emojis.\n\nMusk then [replied](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2075926480387776675) to that post, writing, “He might literally love scamming more than any human alive!”\n\nThe flurry of social activity got Altman’s attention.\n\n″[H]omeboy you’re the one sellling public market investors on short-term space datacenters,” Altman wrote in an [X post](https://x.com/sama/status/2075982617976230043) of his own that garnered over 11 million views.\n\n“We start flying them next year. Maybe you can come see them if your parole officer approves,” Musk [fired back](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2076070258654183767).\n\nSeparately, Altman put Musk’s fresh wave of attention in the context of OpenAI’s fresh model release.\n\n″[T]here are a lot of benchmarks that suggest 5.6 sol is the best model in the world right now, but the most reliable way to tell is that elon is obsessed with me again,” Altman wrote [on X](https://x.com/sama/status/2075983427019612242).\n\nElsewhere on X, the account [@iliketeslas](https://x.com/iliketeslas/status/2076029296770957502) asserted that Altman is scared of Apple. That, too, prompted a response from Altman.\n\n″[I] am not afraid of apple, but i have tremendous respect for them. s-tier company,” Altman [wrote](https://x.com/sama/status/2076034575311278319).\n\nAltman’s post led Nikita Bier, X’s head of product, to [respond](https://x.com/nikitabier/status/2076038516056969424): “Incredible trade secrets as well, some of the best.”\n\nMusk [replied](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2076100183100682607) with a face-with-tears-of-joy emoji.\n\nOn Friday, an OpenAI spokesperson [told CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/10/apple-openai-lawsuit-trade-secrets.html), “We have no interest in other companies’ trade secrets.”\n\n**WATCH:**[Elon Musk loses court battle against Sam Altman, OpenAI](https://www.cnbc.com/video/2026/05/18/elon-musk-loses-court-battle-against-sam-altman-openai.html)\n\nwatch now\n\nVIDEO 4:15 04:15\n\nElon Musk loses court battle against Sam Altman, OpenAI","source_name":"CNBC","source_url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/12/elon-musk-and-sam-altman-spar-.html","url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/12/elon-musk-and-sam-altman-spar-.html","author":"Unknown Author","author_name":"Unknown Author","published_at":"2026-07-12T15:32:34.000Z","publication_date":"2026-07-12T15:32:34.000Z","image_url":"https://image.cnbcfm.com/api/v1/image/108333755-1783868174451-gettyimages-2273245639-2026_apr_30_muskvsaltman_0352.jpeg?v=1783868241&w=1858&h=1045&vtcrop=y","category":"ai","topic":"ai","tags":[],"political_bias":null,"bias_score":null,"confidence_score":null,"credibility_score":null,"factual_quality":null,"reading_time":4,"word_count":651,"view_count":0,"breaking":false,"breaking_news":false,"ai_analysis":null,"fact_check_status":"unverified","archive_status":"hot"}}