‘Let’s be friends’: Sam Altman just extended an olive branch to Elon Musk for the benefit of AI; is the famous tech feud over?

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has signalled a willingness to reconcile with his ex-co-founder Elon Musk and collaborate on the shared goal of achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI), despite their complicated history.

Their latest public exchange unfolded on Saturday on X, sparked by a political flashpoint involving U.S. President Donald Trump. The conversation began when Musk posted a thinking emoji, quoting Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham’s 2016 post, which read, “Few have done more than Sam Altman to defeat Trump.”

Altman responded by acknowledging his past stance, saying he and Musk were both wrong in criticising President Trump in 2016—or at least he was—pointing out to a story by The Guardian, referencing a tweet by Musk from 2022, in which Musk had written that he didn’t hate Trump but felt it was time for him to step aside.

In a gesture of reconciliation, Altman wrote that, “anyway, see you next week, let’s be friends”, adding that their feud should not get in the way of more important goals like AGI. He emphasised that AGI was too critical to be overshadowed by personal differences.

This exchange takes place amid shifting political alignments. Musk has become a close ally of President Trump and was appointed to head the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Altman, while previously critical of Trump, has aligned himself with the U.S. government’s AI agenda through his involvement in the $500 billion Project Stargate, aimed at building AI infrastructure in the country.

Later, Altman reposted a Grok summary of the exchange. The summary noted that both Musk and Altman had evolved in their views on Trump—from critics in 2016 to strategic collaborators by 2025. It suggested that their posts were not so much personal attacks as acknowledgments of past misjudgments and indications of a shift toward pragmatic alignment. Musk’s quote was seen as a playful jab, while Altman’s response served as a deflection.

“Their posts seem less about "slinging mud" and more about acknowledging past misjudgments, with Musk's quote a playful jab and Altman's reply a deflection. They might be positioning for benefits, as Musk's companies need government support and Altman's OpenAI seeks AI policy influence. However, their motives could also reflect pragmatic collaboration for industry goals rather than direct competition. The context suggests strategic alignment over a personal feud,” Grok, Musk’s AI chatbot on X, added.

In response, Altman posed a hypothetical question - if the future of humanity were at stake and one had to choose a leader in AI, who would it be?

Grok answered that both Altman and Musk offer distinct advantages. Altman’s innovations, including ChatGPT and Project Stargate, have made AI more accessible, though his profit-driven approach raises concerns. Musk, through xAI and the Colossus initiative, emphasises safety and ethics, addressing long-term risks but facing criticism over environmental impact and competitive tactics. If forced to choose, Grok said it would lean toward Musk for his focus on AI safety—deemed critical for humanity’s survival—while also noting that the ideal scenario would be for both leaders’ strengths to combine under regulatory oversight to ensure AI benefits all.

“If forced, I'd lean toward Musk for his safety emphasis, critical for humanity's survival, though Altman's accessibility is vital. Ideally, their strengths should combine with regulation to ensure AI benefits all,” the AI chat bot added.

This response by Grok was then reposted again by Elon Musk who wrote, “Asked and answered,” signalling the latter turning down any possibilities of an equitable reconciliation between him and Altman.

Why are Musk and Altman rivals?

Tesla CEO Elon Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 alongside Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, and others with the shared mission of developing artificial general intelligence (AGI) for the benefit of humanity. Musk was a major financial backer in the early days but stepped away from the organisation in 2018, reportedly over conflicts of interest and internal disagreements on direction and control.

In 2019, OpenAI transitioned to a “capped-profit” structure to attract external funding while maintaining its core mission. This change paved the way for Microsoft’s initial $1 billion investment. By 2023, the partnership deepened into a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar deal, with Microsoft investing $14 billion in total. Microsoft secured a 49% stake in OpenAI’s for-profit subsidiary and gained exclusive rights to commercialize its technologies.

OpenAI’s leadership defended the structural shift as necessary to compete with tech giants like Google and to prevent monopolisation of AI technology. However, Musk criticised the move, arguing that OpenAI had strayed from its original non-profit mission and had effectively become a “closed-source, maximum-profit company” under Microsoft’s control.

In March 2024, Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging breach of its founding principles and accusing the company of operating as a de facto subsidiary of Microsoft. OpenAI responded by claiming Musk had previously sought “absolute control” of the organisation before his departure and even attempted to merge OpenAI with Tesla. The company dismissed the lawsuit as a publicity stunt designed to harass a competitor, releasing internal emails to support its counterclaims.

Although the lawsuit was dropped in June 2024, Musk refiled it in August as a federal case. This time, the complaint expanded to include accusations of “rampant self-dealing” by Sam Altman, anticompetitive practices, and alleged coordination between Microsoft and OpenAI to suppress competition. Musk’s legal team claimed that both companies exchanged sensitive information and pressured investors to avoid funding rival ventures such as his own AI company, xAI.

Meanwhile, both OpenAI and xAI raised substantial funding from global investors, particularly sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East. OpenAI secured $6.6 billion in October 2024, and xAI raised up to $6 billion in November at a valuation of $50 billion, making it the sixth most valuable startup in the world. Much of this capital was reportedly allocated for purchasing 100,000 Nvidia AI chips to scale their respective AI infrastructure.

Musk launched xAI in 2023 as a direct competitor to OpenAI, introducing the chatbot Grok to rival ChatGPT. He has consistently criticised OpenAI since ChatGPT's public debut in late 2022, focusing his attacks on its commercialisation and relationship with Microsoft. Alongside his lawsuits, Musk has worked to position xAI as a more transparent and safety-conscious alternative in the rapidly evolving AI industry.

Despite earlier attempts to downplay Musk’s criticisms, OpenAI has faced increasing scrutiny in recent months—from AI researchers, former employees, and several state attorneys general. Under growing pressure, the company announced a new governance change in 2025. While it will continue spinning off its for-profit arm into a public benefit corporation (PBC), OpenAI confirmed that its nonprofit board will retain final control—an apparent concession to calls for greater oversight and alignment with its founding mission.