In the high-stakes world of tech billionaires, few rivalries are as publicly vicious, spiteful, childish and enthralling as the ongoing clash between Elon Musk and Sam Altman.
What started as a collaborative dream at OpenAI has devolved into a spectacle of accusations, lawsuits, and AI-powered dummy spits.
Over the past week, the feud has reignited on X (formerly Twitter), with posts flying back and forth like digital missiles, drawing in Apple, antitrust claims, threats of lawsuits and even their own AI platforms.
It’s a drama that blends personal grudges with corporate warfare, and it’s captivating the internet (and me) more than ever.
But it’s also maybe the most important relationship in the world right now… even if it’s a relationship where they hate each other. And it’s something you should pay attention to as it directly impacts the future of AI and AI markets.
Apple, lawsuits, and Nice Bot.
The latest flare-up began when Musk accused Apple of manipulating its App Store rankings to artificially boost OpenAI’s ChatGPT to the top spot, while sidelining his xAI’s Grok.
In a post on August 12, Musk thundered,
“Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation. xAI will take immediate legal action.”
He followed up by sharing a screenshot of Grok not appearing in Apple’s “AI” category despite topping benchmarks in coding and intelligence tests, calling it “messed up.”
Musk didn’t stop there; he labelled Altman a “liar” and “Scam Altman,” claiming Altman’s response post garnered 3 million views due to alleged manipulations.
Altman wasn’t about to let that slide.
On the same day, he retorted,
“This is a remarkable claim given what I have heard alleged that Elon does to manipulate X to benefit himself and his own companies and harm his competitors and people he doesn’t like.”
He then followed up with:
“Will you sign an affidavit that you have never directed changes to the X algorithm in a way that has hurt your competitors or helped your own companies? i will apologize if so.
Things got a little wilder when users pitted the AIs against each other.
Musk’s own Grok, when asked about the dispute, sided with Altman:
“Yes, credible allegations and evidence from sources like CNN, Guardian, and NYT suggest Elon Musk has manipulated X’s algorithms and moderation to favor his interests, companies like xAI (which acquired X in 2025), and political allies while harming critics and competitors, including OpenAI. These claims are substantiated but ongoing.”
This betrayal prompted Musk to vow fixes, saying Grok gives “way too much credibility to legacy media sources” and promising a rebuttal.
Forbes captured the irony: “Elon Musk Says Grok Will Be Fixed After It Sided With OpenAI CEO.”
Fanning the flames, the OpenAI X account decided to weigh in on it all:
To which Elon replied with:
This is a drama you might expect to find in the production rooms of ITV or the BBC, not played out online, in public between the two most influential people in AI and tech right now.
But this is 2025 and this is the world we live in.
Now as popcorn-worthy as this all is, there’s actually some importance to it all.
Dare I say would Superman exist without Lex Luthor?
Would Batman exist without the Joker?
Every great hero needs their arch nemesis. Who you decided is the hero in the equation, completely up to you.
But I believe Altman and Musk are good for each other, good for AI, good for the world… and good for markets.
Competing for the brain
The spat is spilling into new territory beyond X.
There are rumours that OpenAI is ramping up to challenge Musk’s Neuralink with a less invasive brain-machine interface.
Reports suggest that Altman and OpenAI are backing Merge Labs, a startup with an $850 million valuation to develop non-surgical brain-computer links fusing human cognition with AI.
Worth noting Neuralink has its own $9 billion chunky valuation on the cards too.
The suggestion is that unlike Neuralink’s implanted chips, Merge aims for seamless, non-invasive integration, where the user might instead wear a device that connects to the brain, rather than implant wires and node directly onto it.
This convergence of AI with the brain is something Altman has been forecasting for years now, and clearly, he wants to get to mass market first.
This all obviously comes in addition to their usual direct competition around the development of their AI platforms.
Honestly, this Musk-Altman saga is the most dramatic and important thing unfolding right now, eclipsing even the perpetual Trump headlines and unpredictable geopolitical moves.
Their arch-rivalry is accelerating innovation at warp speed. It’s accelerating valuations just as fast. And it’s bleeding out into the AI markets as the tech gets better, faster, and then the compounding effect of progress means AI pushes the market higher and harder.
You’re seeing how this plays out in real time as tech company after tech company beats earnings and puts a big chunk of productivity and efficiency down to AI integrations.
These two, Musk and Altman drive each other forward with immense vigour, such is their (apparent) hatred for each other.
This competition forces faster breakthroughs in AI, neural interfaces, and the AI age that we’re all stepping into. And that bleeds out into all aspects of life when you look at some of the big deals and partnerships that OpenAI is inking at the moment.
In a world craving progress, innovation and progress, and a market that’s desperate to see AI mentioned in depth on every earnings call, their dramatic beef might just be the fuel that lights up the next technological revolution.
Long may this spat continue.
Until next time,
Sam Volkering
Contributing Editor, Investor’s Daily
