Elon Musk and Sam Altman cofounded OpenAI, but now they're locked in a legal battle. Here's the history of their working relationship and feud.

In This Article:

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk aimed to create a nonprofit focused on developing AI.Getty
  • Elon Musk helped found OpenAI, but he has frequently criticized it in recent years.

  • Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in August and just amended it to include Microsoft.

  • Here's a history of Musk and Altman's working relationship.

Elon Musk and Sam Altman lead rival AI firms and now take public jabs at each other — but it wasn't always like this.

Years ago, the two cofounded OpenAI, which Altman now leads. Musk departed OpenAI, which created ChatGPT, in 2018, and recently announced his own AI venture, xAI.

There is enough bad blood that Musk sued OpenAI and Altman, accusing them in the suit of betraying the firm's founding principles, before dropping the lawsuit. The billionaire then filed a new one a few months later, claiming he was "deceived" into confounding the company. In November, he amended it to include Microsoft as a defendant, and his lawyers accused the two companies of engaging in monopolistic behavior. Microsoft is an investor in OpenAI.

Two weeks later, Musk's lawyers filed a motion requesting a judge to bring an injunction against OpenAI that would block it from dropping its nonprofit status. In the filing, Musk accused OpenAI and Microsoft of exploiting his donations to create a for-profit monopoly.

Here's a look at Musk and Altman's complicated relationship over the years:

Musk and Altman cofounded OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, in 2015, alongside other Silicon Valley figures, including Peter Thiel, LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman, and Y Combinator cofounder Jessica Livingston.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk aimed to create a nonprofit focused on developing AI.Getty

The group aimed to create a nonprofit focused on developing artificial intelligence "in the way that is most likely to benefit humanity as a whole," according to a statement on OpenAI's website from December 11, 2015.

At the time, Musk said that AI was the "biggest existential threat" to humanity.

Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, is pushing for a harder-driving culture at the company.
Musk said AI was the "biggest existential threat" to humanity.Carina Johansen/Getty Images

"It's hard to fathom how much human-level AI could benefit society, and it's equally hard to imagine how much it could damage society if built or used incorrectly," a statement announcing the founding of OpenAI reads.

Musk stepped down from OpenAI's board of directors in 2018.

Elon Musk greets onlookers with both hands waving, at the 2022 Met Gala
OpenAI said in a blog post that Musk stepping down would "eliminate" a potential conflict with Tesla.Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images

"As Tesla continues to become more focused on AI, this will eliminate a potential future conflict for Elon," OpenAI said in a blog post at the time, adding that Musk would continue to provide guidance and donations.

With his departure, Musk also backed out of a commitment to provide additional funding to OpenAI, a person involved in the matter told The New Yorker.

"It was very tough," Altman told the magazine of the situation. "I had to reorient a lot of my life and time to make sure we had enough funding."