Elon Musk has responded to OpenAI‘s allegations of “bad-faith tactics” with a terse dismissal, as he and CEO Sam Altman grapple for control over the world’s leading artificial intelligence company.

The Tesla CEO branded his former Silicon Valley ally “Scam Altman,” after OpenAI announced Wednesday it was countersuing Musk for blocking competition, following Musk’s own lawsuit challenging the company’s transition to a for-profit structure.

Newsweek contacted OpenAI for comment on this story via email.

The Context

Musk and Altman are two of the biggest names in the U.S. tech industry, and both have played a critical role in the development of AI. While the pair originally started as allies, cofounding OpenAI, they have fallen out publicly over the management of the company, which produces ChatGPT, as AI becomes increasingly central to economic efficiencies and business models worldwide.

What To Know

On April 9, OpenAI filed its countersuit in federal court in San Francisco against Elon Musk, arguing that he is unfairly trying to obstruct a competitor in the AI space.

“Elon’s nonstop actions against us are just bad-faith tactics to slow down OpenAI and seize control of the leading AI innovations for his personal benefit,” the company said on X, Musk’s own social media platform.

“Today, we countersued to stop him. He’s been spreading false information about us. We’re actually getting ready to build the best equipped nonprofit the world has ever seen.

“Elon’s never been about the mission. He’s always had his own agenda. He tried to seize control of OpenAI and merge it with Tesla as a for-profit—his own emails prove it. When he didn’t get his way, he stormed off.

“Elon is undoubtedly one of the greatest entrepreneurs of our time. But these antics are just history on repeat—Elon being all about Elon.”

Musk replied simply: “Scam Altman is at it again.”

Musk’s original lawsuit against OpenAI, which he brought forward in 2024, alleges that he was originally approached to create a nonprofit AI company, and OpenAI’s move to a for-profit structure is a breach of those terms.

However, OpenAI claims that Musk himself tried to take OpenAI into a for-profit system via a merger with Tesla, and his lawsuit against the company is actually a tactic to hamper competition with his own artificial intelligence, xAI.

In the court filing against Musk, which OpenAI shared with Newsweek, the company’s legal team said: “Musk could not tolerate seeing such success for an enterprise he had abandoned and declared doomed.

“He made it his project to take down OpenAI, and to build a direct competitor that
would seize the technological lead—not for humanity but for Elon Musk.

“The ensuing campaign has been relentless. Through press attacks, malicious
campaigns broadcast to Musk’s more than 200 million followers on the social media platform he controls, a pretextual demand for corporate records, harassing legal claims, and a sham bid for OpenAI’s assets, Musk has tried every tool available to harm OpenAI.”

What People Are Saying

Elon Musk has previously criticized Sam Altman for his partnership with Microsoft, saying in 2020: “OpenAI was meant to be open. This feels like the opposite. OpenAI Inc has been transformed into a closed-source, de facto subsidiary of the largest technology company in the world.”

Sam Altman, discussing Musk’s role within the Trump administration, said in 2024: “It would be profoundly un-American to use political power, to the degree that Elon has it, to hurt your competitors and advantage your own businesses, and I don’t think people would tolerate that. I don’t think Elon would do it.”

What Happens Next

The lawsuit between Musk and OpenAI is currently being heard at a U.S. federal court in the Northern District of California.

Update 4/10/25, 10:18 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.