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Musk and Altman Trade Fraud Accusations After Apple's Lawsuit Against OpenAI
After Apple sued OpenAI over trade secret theft, Elon Musk called Sam Altman a fraud, and Altman fired back with a joke about SpaceX satellites. New lawsuit details, including the names of former Apple executives implicated in the case, have also emerged.
Apple's lawsuit against OpenAI over trade secret theft, filed on July 10, 2026, has escalated into a public war of words between Elon Musk and Sam Altman. On X, the Tesla and SpaceX chief called Altman a fraud, and Altman responded with a jab about SpaceX's satellite data centers.
What Apple Alleges
In the lawsuit, Apple claims OpenAI systematically obtained confidential information about the company's hardware through former employees and recruiting practices. According to the complaint, Tang Tan, who spent 24 years at Apple overseeing iPhone and Apple Watch development, allegedly began working for OpenAI before formally leaving the company and is said to have passed along supplier data and market analyses.
The second defendant, Chang Liu, allegedly kept his company laptop and used access to internal systems to obtain hardware-related files, according to Apple. Apple describes the scope of the problem as reaching 'every level' of the organization, from rank-and-file technical staff to top executives.
At every level, from technical staff members to the head of hardware, and in cooperation with business partners, OpenAI is stealing Apple's trade secrets and confidential information. - from Apple's lawsuit
A War of Posts
Musk's response came swiftly. In a series of posts on X, he called Altman 'Scam Altman' and wrote that OpenAI 'stole a nonprofit AI charity, and now it has stolen Apple's phone technology.' He also added a jab referencing Altman's legal troubles, suggesting Altman might get to see SpaceX's AI1 compute satellites 'if his court-appointed monitor allows it.'
After stealing an open-source AI charity, you've now stolen Apple's entire phone technology! - Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX and Tesla, on X
Altman didn't hold back either. He shot back that it's Musk who is 'selling stock market investors a short-term product in the form of space data centers,' referencing the early stage of SpaceX's plans for orbital computing infrastructure, which critics say won't reach meaningful capacity for years.
There are a lot of benchmarks suggesting 5.6 Sol is currently the best model in the world, but the most reliable indicator is that Elon is once again obsessed with me. - Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, on X
Old Rivalry, New Pretext
The feud between Musk and Altman has simmered for years, dating back to 2015 when the two co-founded OpenAI as a nonprofit. Musk left the board in 2018, and after OpenAI restructured into a for-profit venture, he accused his former partners of abandoning the company's original mission. His $150 billion lawsuit against OpenAI and Altman was dismissed in May 2026 on procedural rather than substantive grounds, and Musk has appealed.
Apple's lawsuit is a separate legal matter, not directly tied to Musk's long-running dispute with OpenAI, but it has supplied fresh ammunition for the ongoing exchange of jabs. Musk himself is not a party to Apple's lawsuit; his comments amount to a public dig at a rival in the AI industry.
What It Means for the Industry
The clash between two of the most recognizable figures in the U.S. AI sector comes as both companies prepare for major market moments. OpenAI has filed confidential paperwork for a planned IPO, and SpaceX went public in June 2026 at a valuation of roughly $2 trillion. The public sparring between industry leaders, while personal in nature, could shape how investors perceive both companies at a pivotal point in their growth.
For Polish companies using OpenAI's products or services tied to Musk's ecosystem, the feud itself carries no direct operational consequences. What matters more is how the court proceedings in Apple's lawsuit unfold, since they touch on recruiting practices and trade secret protection in AI hardware development, an area where OpenAI is investing heavily.
OpenAI has rejected Apple's allegations in an official statement, calling them baseless. The legal case is only just beginning, and further court filings could reveal more details about both companies' recruiting practices in the race for talent to build AI hardware.
Sources: CNBC (cnbc.com), Yahoo Finance (finance.yahoo.com), IBTimes Singapore (ibtimes.sg), BigGo Finance (finance.biggo.com), FourWeekMBA (fourweekmba.com)
