Elon Musk, the famous CEO of Tesla, SpaceX and founder of xAI, has just suffered another defeat in his open war against OpenAI. After trying by all means to slow down the evolution of the organization he co-founded in 2015, the billionaire has seen his application rejected by the American justice. This setback comes on top of a series of episodes marked by growing tensions with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and disagreements about the future of artificial intelligence (AI).
Scathing judicial defeat
California judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, known for chairing media cases like Epic Games vs. Apple, rejected Elon Musk’s request to block the restructuring of OpenAI. Musk was seeking to prevent the organization from continuing its shift towards a hybrid model, combining a non-profit entity and a commercial branch.
In her decision, the judge found that Musk had not presented sufficient evidence to justify such a drastic measure. However, it recognized the importance of the litigation by setting an expedited trial for fall 2025. This decision is a blow to Musk, who hoped to slow the rise of OpenAI.
The genesis of conflict: partners become rivals
In 2015, Elon Musk, Sam Altman and nine other experts founded OpenAI with an ambitious mission: to develop advanced AI for the benefit of humanity. In its early days, OpenAI operated as a non-profit organization, advocating for transparency and open source development.
However, tensions between Musk and Altman quickly emerged. In 2018, Musk left OpenAI after a series of strategic disagreements. According to recently revealed emails, Musk would have proposed before his departure to merge OpenAI with Tesla to guarantee the funds needed for its development. This offer was rejected by OpenAI’s management, who wanted to preserve its independence.
The launch of ChatGPT at the end of 2022 marked a turning point in this rivalry. This groundbreaking conversational model has propelled OpenAI to the forefront of the global stage and attracted billions of dollars in investments, including from Microsoft. Elon Musk then intensified his criticism, accusing Sam Altman and OpenAI of having betrayed the founding ideals by moving closer to the private sector.
A Desperate Attempt: Offer to Buy Out Refused
In 2025, Elon Musk attempted a bold coup by proposing to buy the organization controlling OpenAI for $97.4 billion. This astronomical offer was intended to regain control of an entity that he considers has deviated from its original mission.
However, this proposal was strongly rejected by the OpenAI board. Sam Altman himself would have called this offer a "desperate attempt" to disrupt competition in the AI field. This public refusal only exacerbated the tensions between the two men.
Although he has lost his direct influence on OpenAI, Elon Musk has not given up on his ambitions in the field of artificial intelligence. With Tesla and its xAI start-up, it develops its own solutions to compete with OpenAI.
- Before leaving OpenAI in 2018, Musk had proposed to integrate OpenAI with Tesla to ensure stable funding. This idea was rejected by the management team. Today, Tesla continues to invest in advanced AI technologies for its autonomous vehicles.
- Founded in 2023, xAI is Musk’s direct response to OpenAI. Its flagship AI model called Grok is already integrated into X (formerly Twitter), offering conversational features similar to those of ChatGPT.
Despite these initiatives, xAI remains far behind OpenAI in terms of global recognition and adoption.
An ideological battle over the future of AI
Beyond the personal quarrels between Elon Musk and Sam Altman, there is an ideological struggle over the future of artificial intelligence:
- Musk defends a "responsible" AI, arguing that companies like OpenAI may sacrifice security for profit. He also criticises their dependence on tech giants like Microsoft.
- For Altman, raising billions is essential to achieve OpenAI’s ambitious goals. He argues that this funding not only accelerates technological progress, but also helps him to remain competitive against international rivals such as Google DeepMind or Baidu.
What's next?
While Elon Musk has just suffered this major legal setback, he shows no sign of giving up. The trial scheduled for fall 2025 could offer a new opportunity for the billionaire to challenge the strategic decisions made by OpenAI.
For its part, OpenAI continues to advance at high speed in the development of ever more efficient models while consolidating its partnerships with Microsoft and other major players in the technology sector.
The rivalry between Elon Musk and Sam Altman goes far beyond their personal differences: it symbolizes two opposing visions of technological development and the role that artificial intelligence should play in our society. As this battle intensifies, it could well redefine not only the competitive landscape but also the very future of artificial intelligence in the world.
Case to follow...
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