OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says he’s “not interested” in tech rival Elon Musk’s influence on the incoming Trump administration, despite their ongoing legal battle.
The businessman revealed his thoughts on the political center of his old friend The New York Times DealBook Summit on Wednesday.
“I may be proven wrong, but I have every confidence that Musk will do the right thing,” he said.
“It would be profoundly un-American to use political power to the extent Elon has to hurt your competitors and benefit your own businesses,” he added. “I don’t think people would tolerate that. I don’t think Elon would.”
What happened between Musk and Altman?
Altman made the remarks amid Musk’s recent appointment, along with businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, to lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under Republican President-elect Donald Trump.
The advisory body — which began as a joke post on Musk’s X platform — aims to streamline government operations and reduce wasteful spending.
Musk and Altman co-founded OpenAI in 2015 with the mission of developing artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity. The company has since dabbled in the AI boom, most famously with the release of ChatGPT. Musk left the company’s board in 2018, citing potential future conflicts of interest with his role at Tesla.
In February, Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, Altman and company president Greg Brockman, alleging the organization deviated from its original nonprofit mission by prioritizing profits and partnering with Microsoft.
He later added Microsoft as a defendant, accusing both companies of creating a monopoly.
‘Terribly sad’ about a frayed friendship
Musk’s recent ventures include the launch of xAI, an artificial intelligence company that is a direct competitor to OpenAI.
When asked about his rocky relationship with Musk, Altman said he felt “hugely sad,” but also characterized Musk’s legal battle as one of business competition. “It’s a competitor and we’re doing well,” he added.
Altman also commented on a separate lawsuit he filed The New York Times —host of Wednesday’s DealBook Summit. The Times is among several media organizations suing OpenAI and its partner Microsoft, accusing them of copyright infringement by using news articles to train AI systems like ChatGPT.
Both companies defended their actions by citing the “fair use” doctrine under copyright law.
NYT copyright case to begin in January
Court proceedings are ongoing and both sides are preparing for depositions, which are scheduled to begin in January. Attorneys from both sides met for more than four hours Tuesday before a federal judge in New York, trying to resolve disputes over the collection of potential evidence.
Representing lawyer Times he said millions of articles were confirmed to have been used in AI training.
Altman defended the practices of OpenAI: “If an AI reads something – a physics textbook – it can learn physics, it can use it for other things like a human ability.”
“Look, I don’t believe in showing up in a stranger’s house as a guest and being rude, but I will say, I think The New York Times is in many ways on the wrong side of history.”
In response to Altman’s comments, Ian Crosby, partner at Susman Godfrey and senior counsel for The New York Timessaid: “Mr. Altman rightly recognized that writers, photographers, artists and other creators deserve to be paid for the work they create.
“What he misses is exactly why copyright law exists, and there is a way to create new technologies that are consistent with the law and the rights of copyright holders. History has shown time and time again that it is entirely possible to do both.”
This article includes reporting from the Associated Press.
