Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has labeled Elon Musk a “bully” who enjoys engaging in conflicts with other tech leaders. In an interview with The Free Press, as reported by Sydney Lake for Fortune, Altman addressed the ongoing dispute between the two tech entrepreneurs. The conflict centers on OpenAI’s transformation from a nonprofit to a partially for-profit organization, which has led to several lawsuits from Musk.
According to OpenAI’s December 13 blog post, Musk had actually supported the for-profit model during his involvement with the company. The AI company provided documentation showing Musk’s attempts to make OpenAI for-profit in 2017 and his subsequent departure in 2018 when he couldn’t secure majority control. Altman acknowledged Musk’s early contributions to OpenAI but criticized his current behavior, noting that Musk has similarly feuded with other tech leaders like Bezos, Gates, and Zuckerberg.
OpenAI, now valued at $157 billion, has maintained its focus on research despite the controversy. The company transformed its structure in 2019, adding a for-profit arm through a $1 billion investment from Microsoft. Musk has responded by filing multiple lawsuits, claiming the structural change violates OpenAI’s original mission to benefit humanity through artificial general intelligence development. Meanwhile, Musk has launched his own AI venture, xAI, which has reached a valuation of $50 billion.