Tesla CEO Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are locked in a public dispute on X, according to NDTV.
The two were once close, but their relationship broke down in 2018 over disagreements about OpenAI’s future. Altman has said Musk wanted to fold OpenAI into Tesla, a move that never materialized.
The conflict reignited last fall when Musk’s AI company, xAI, sued OpenAI, accusing Altman of aggressively recruiting Musk’s talent. Altman later took a swipe at Musk on X, complaining about a deposit he paid for a Tesla Roadster that was never delivered.
The latest escalation came on Jan. 20, when Musk warned users to avoid ChatGPT. He reposted an unsourced claim alleging the chatbot had been linked to multiple deaths and urged people not to let their loved ones use it.
Musk’s criticism drew attention given that xAI launched its own chatbot, Grok, in late 2023. Since then, Grok has faced repeated controversies, including reports of offensive behavior, problematic outputs, and concerns over its ability to generate realistic and explicit imagery. Some versions of the chatbot were later restricted or banned in certain countries.
Altman responded by saying that any reported deaths connected to ChatGPT were tragic and complex situations that require care and respect. He emphasized the challenge of protecting vulnerable users while still allowing broad access to AI tools.
He ended his statement with a pointed remark, alleging that more than 50 deaths had been linked to Tesla’s Autopilot, concluding with a sharp critique of Musk’s approach to accusations.