The Musk vs. Altman war began with a strategic disagreement between the two, which escalated into a legal conflict over the intellectual property of the AI company they co-founded.
The dispute over OpenAI seems endless. Who will end up controlling the technology that today moves billions of dollars and billions of people?
The real Musk vs. Altman conflict
In 2015, Elon and Sam founded Open AI as a nonprofit organization. The goal was to build an AI platform that would be safe, beneficial, and practical for society. However, differences and tensions over leadership led Elon Musk to leave the board in 2018.
Shortly afterward, the AI company received a multibillion-dollar investment from Microsoft, marking the start of its transition to a different, hybrid, for-profit model.
In 2023, Elon founded his own artificial intelligence company, xAI, linked to his other flagship venture, X (formerly Twitter). Then, in March 2024, Musk took his claims to court, accusing OpenAI of putting commercial interests ahead of the public good.
But Elon didn’t stop there. In February 2025, xAI and a group of investors made an offer to acquire the rights to OpenAI. According to The Wall Street Journal, they sought to acquire the nonprofit organization for $97.4 billion.
Countersuit for sabotage
OpenAI filed a countersuit accusing Musk of waging a relentless campaign with the sole aim of harming the AI company — through social media posts and media pressure — to hold back the growth of OpenAI and benefit xAI.
The company behind ChatGPT accuses Musk of “bad-faith actions to slow down OpenAI,” as well as of attempting to “seize control of the leading AI innovations for his personal benefit.”
Because, according to the company: “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.”
The case will be decided at a trial scheduled for 2026, and it could redefine the rules of the game in the AI industry. If OpenAI manages to prove that Musk acted in bad faith, the tycoon could face legal restrictions limiting his ability to interfere with the company.
But if Musk proves that OpenAI breached its founding principles, the company would have to restructure its business model. The Musk vs. Altman battle shows no sign of ending anytime soon.
Conclusion
The core debate is about who should lead the development of AI: should it be private, for-profit companies or a nonprofit organization? Is there room for collaboration between the two? This conflict goes beyond the legal and corporate sphere, so it will also set a precedent for how AI is regulated and funded in the future. The war revolves around the strategic intangible assets of giants.
Further reading:
Intangible assets: strengthen your company through IP.
Know your intellectual property rights and expand.
The AI revolution: who is ready?
