• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs

2

Even as Elon Musk calls philanthropy ‘very hard,’ everyday Americans gave a record $617 billion—despite feeling the squeeze over the cost of living

3

Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998

1

Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs

2

Even as Elon Musk calls philanthropy ‘very hard,’ everyday Americans gave a record $617 billion—despite feeling the squeeze over the cost of living

3

Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998
TechOpenAI

Sam Altman calls Elon Musk a ‘bully’ who enjoys getting into fights with fellow billionaires

Sydney Lake
By
Sydney Lake
Sydney Lake
Associate Editor
Down Arrow Button Icon
Sydney Lake
By
Sydney Lake
Sydney Lake
Associate Editor
Down Arrow Button Icon
December 20, 2024, 12:01 PM ET
Elon Musk and Sam Altman sitting in chairs
Elon Musk (left) cofounded OpenAI with Sam Altman in 2015.Michael Kovac—Getty Images for Vanity Fair
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.
  • Sam Altman called Elon Musk a “bully” for his continued criticism of and several lawsuits against OpenAI, the organization they cofounded in 2015. OpenAI released an extensive blog post on Dec. 13 to back up its claim that Musk always wanted OpenAI to be a for-profit organization.

If you haven’t been keeping up with the ongoing feud between Sam Altman and Elon Musk, the OpenAI CEO summarized it pretty succinctly, saying the Tesla CEO and world’s richest man is “clearly a bully.”

Recommended Video

Although Altman admits his cofounder “did a lot to help OpenAI in the early days,” he told the Free Press in an interview published Thursday that Musk is “also clearly a bully, and he’s also someone who clearly likes to get in fights.”

OpenAI did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for additional comment.

The overarching battle between these two billionaires stems from a fundamental disagreement over OpenAI’s company structure and control. Musk has on several occasions sued OpenAI, alleging the nonprofit he helped found cannot legally convert to a corporation without violating its original purpose: to benefit humanity as a whole by developing the world’s first artificial general intelligence (AGI).

However, OpenAI alleges Musk had long pushed for OpenAI to become a for-profit company. Musk also reportedly wanted OpenAI to become part of Tesla, which the company saw as a conflict of interest as the electric car company started increasingly using AI technologies in its products. 

“His own words and actions speak for themselves—in 2017 Elon not only wanted, but actually created, a for-profit as OpenAI’s proposed new structure,” according to an open letter published by OpenAI on Dec. 13, which includes screenshots, other documents, and a timeline of events involving Musk since 2015. “When he didn’t get majority equity and full control, he walked away [in 2018] and told us we would fail.”

Representatives of Musk through X and Tesla did not immediately respond to Fortune’s requests for comment.

OpenAI has since shifted to a split corporate structure, adding a for-profit arm in 2019 with a $1 billion investment from Microsoft. The goal of the partnership was to “democratize AI,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said at the time.

Amid the four lawsuits filed by Musk against OpenAI, there has been an extensive battle on social media. But Altman calls that “a little bit of a sideshow.” And instead of humoring Musk on X, Altman says OpenAI ignores a lot of what he says.

“We do not sit there and throw tomatoes back and forth on Twitter,” Altman told the Free Press. “The right thing for us to do is just keep doing incredible research.”

Musk has even gone so far as to allege, in one of his lawsuits against OpenAI, that Altman and Greg Brockman, another cofounder, “manipulated” him to help create the company. The lawsuit alleges Altman and others “intentionally courted and deceived Musk, preying on Musk’s humanitarian concern about the existential dangers posed by artificial intelligence.”

But despite all of the allegations and drama, Altman is seemingly brushing off Musk’s incessant posts on X and other criticisms about OpenAI, mostly because he’s not the first person Musk has regularly fought with.

“Right now, it’s me. It’s been Bezos, Gates, Zuckerberg, lots of other people,” Altman said in the interview. “And I think, fundamentally, this is about OpenAI doing really well. Elon cares about doing really well.” Currently, OpenAI is valued at $157 billion.

Meanwhile, Musk has launched his own AI startup, xAI, which is training its own large language model on X data. The value of xAI has more than doubled to $50 billion since it last raised money in May.

Despite the feud between Altman and Musk, Altman said he doesn’t think Musk will abuse his position by punishing OpenAI even though he’s become very close with President-elect Donald Trump, making him even more powerful than before.

“I think there are people who will really be a jerk on Twitter, who will still not abuse the system of a country they’re now in a sort of extremely influential political role for,” Altman said during the interview. “That seems completely different to me.”

About the Author
Sydney Lake
By Sydney LakeAssociate Editor
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Sydney Lake is an associate editor at Fortune, where she writes and edits news for the publication's global news desk.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

ring
PoliticsTariffs
Belgium got its tariffs cut. Then it sent Trump a diamond Superman ring
By Sam McNeil and The Associated PressJuly 4, 2026
8 hours ago
Ejay O'Donnell, Bart Szaniewski, and Grant Eastey wear Dad Gang hats in a factory
SuccessEntrepreneurship
Three dads started selling hats from a garage with $750—now they’ve sold $35 million worth, partnered with Gary Vee, and grown a community of fathers
By Preston ForeJuly 4, 2026
10 hours ago
How a third-generation Texas oilman transformed an organic farming company into a leading advanced nuclear startup at a small Christian college
EnergyNuclear
How a third-generation Texas oilman transformed an organic farming company into a leading advanced nuclear startup at a small Christian college
By Jordan BlumJuly 4, 2026
13 hours ago
Americans will eat 150 million hot dogs today. One specific American is predicted to eat 70 of them
North AmericaFood and drink
Americans will eat 150 million hot dogs today. One specific American is predicted to eat 70 of them
By Catherina GioinoJuly 4, 2026
13 hours ago
‘Devin-kun’: Japan embraces agents as legacy code and a shrinking workforce create a perfect market for an AI software engineer 
AsiaAI agents
‘Devin-kun’: Japan embraces agents as legacy code and a shrinking workforce create a perfect market for an AI software engineer 
By Nicholas GordonJuly 3, 2026
23 hours ago
Chad Hurley and Steven Chen wearing suits
SuccessWealth
YouTube’s founders split over $650 million when they sold to Google in 2006—had they held out, they could have taken a slice of $550 billion
By Preston ForeJuly 3, 2026
1 day ago

Most Popular

Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs
Law
Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs
By Wyatte Grantham-Philips and The Associated PressJuly 2, 2026
2 days ago
Even as Elon Musk calls philanthropy ‘very hard,’ everyday Americans gave a record $617 billion—despite feeling the squeeze over the cost of living
Success
Even as Elon Musk calls philanthropy ‘very hard,’ everyday Americans gave a record $617 billion—despite feeling the squeeze over the cost of living
By Preston ForeJuly 4, 2026
13 hours ago
Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998
AI
Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 3, 2026
2 days ago
Economists have found an answer to slowing cognitive decline: Avoid retiring early, study finds
Economy
Economists have found an answer to slowing cognitive decline: Avoid retiring early, study finds
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 2, 2026
2 days ago
$25 billion CEO says one-hour interviews are a waste of time—he puts candidates through six hours of tests and wants them to order wine at lunch
Success
$25 billion CEO says one-hour interviews are a waste of time—he puts candidates through six hours of tests and wants them to order wine at lunch
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJuly 3, 2026
2 days ago
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
Success
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
By Preston ForeJune 27, 2026
7 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.