Elon Musk and Sam Altman are still swiping at each other on Musk's social media platform X.
The two founders of OpenAI, of which Altman is CEO, have since sparred on social media, court filings and company blog posts. The latest exchange began when Altman posted what he called a “three-act story.” The screenshot shows he booked a Tesla Roadster in 2018 and then recently tried to cancel it and request a refund of his $50,000 reservation fee, only to have his email bounced.
“I was really excited about this car!” Altman wrote. “I understand the delay. But seven and a half years felt like a long time to wait.”
The second-generation Roadster sports car was first announced in November 2017, but has been repeatedly delayed, with Tesla CEO Musk recently saying a new version would be unveiled by the end of this year.
Musk first responded to Altman's post by writing, “You stole a nonprofit,” a criticism he has previously leveled at Altman and OpenAI, not just over tweets but also over lawsuits and takeover bids aimed at blocking OpenAI's attempts to reorganize itself as a for-profit company (a process OpenAI recently completed, with its nonprofit arm still retaining control over the for-profit public corporation).
Musk also started a rival AI startup, xAI, which is suing OpenAI and Apple, accusing them of colluding to stifle competition. (Altman said the accusations were “…astounding given what we've heard about Elon trying to manipulate X to benefit himself and his company and to harm his competitors and people he doesn't like.”)
In addition to repeating his criticism of Altman and OpenAI, Musk suggested today that Altman's screenshots don't tell the whole story, saying, “And you forgot to mention the fourth act, where this issue was fixed and I received my refund within 24 hours. But that's your nature.”
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