In case you missed it, Elon Musk last week responded to a fellow American, Sam Altman’s, post explaining his experience with trying to get a Tesla Roadster reservation refunded. Altman, who co-founded OpenAI with Musk, shared a “tale in three acts” that included screenshots of his attempts to cancel a reservation made back in 2018 for the second-generation Tesla Roadster. The conversation quickly escalated as Musk accused Altman of stealing from a nonprofit organization, reigniting tensions between the two tech leaders.
Sam Altman’s post expressing his excitement for the Tesla Roadster clearly expressed buyer’s remorse, as he wrote “I actually was really looking forward to the car! But when it came time for him to try to get his $50,000 reservation fee refunded, that’s when he began to run into problems. Altman had a hard time getting in touch with Musk to ask for assistance. His emails bounced every time, and suddenly there was direct no communication possible. That caused Altman to air his frustrations in public.
Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, has a well-deserved reputation for speaking his mind, and he definitely didn’t bite his tongue here. He accused Altman of dishonesty regarding the situation and claimed, “And you forgot to mention act 4, where this issue was fixed and you received a refund within 24 hours. That is in your nature.” This exchange sheds light on their deeper, personal grievances. It highlights the developing competition among Musk’s xAI and Altman’s OpenAI.
Musk has made it a habit of attacking Altman and OpenAI from all angles, via tweets, threats of lawsuits, and other means. After initially founding OpenAI, Musk became disappointed with its direction, and so he started xAI, an OpenAI competitor focused on artificial intelligence. Most recently, xAI itself is suing both OpenAI and Apple for alleged anticompetitive collusion. Taken in combination, these two initiatives indicate that the once seemingly invincible alliance between the two partners in innovation is coming into deeper conflict.
The Tesla Roadster as a product has seen significant production delays ever since it was announced back in November 2017. Musk most recently pledged to have a new prototype of the long-delayed, much-anticipated sports car on display by the end of this year. The timeline for delivery is still a big question mark. These two titans of the tech industry have been engaged in a contentious feud. Their very public clashes go beyond the somethings of their personal rivalries but have far-reaching implications for their companies’ fortunes and the future of AI development.
