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OpenAI’s Sam Altman has shared hope that Elon Musk wouldn’t use his political clout to hurt his competitors.
It’s the latest in the bitter and ongoing feud between the two former partners, with Musk having just filed a preliminary injunction against the company to stop it from becoming a for-profit business.
The injunction aims to prevent the company behind ChatGPT from changing its structure and transferring assets.
After the news of the filing, Altman was present at the New York Times DealBook Summit at the Lincoln Center on December 4 where he was reported as saying: “It would be profoundly un-American to use political power to hurt your competitors and advantage your own businesses.
“I don’t think people would tolerate that. I don’t think Elon would do it.”
While the duo have been engaged in a back-and-forth for some time, with the latest preliminary injunction being the fourth legal action taken, Altman dismissed concerns that his rival might use his political influence to undercut competitors.
Altman says he believes Elon will do the right thing
He said: “I believe that – pretty strongly – I mean, it may turn out to be wrong, but I believe pretty strongly that Elon will do the right thing…”
Sam Altman said he is not worried about Elon Musk — his former partner in founding OpenAI — and President-elect Trump hurting his business. Follow our live coverage from the DealBook Summit here: https://t.co/uTsyyH00xC pic.twitter.com/87Fjsog8Jd
— The New York Times (@nytimes) December 4, 2024
The Tesla CEO appears to have become a major part of President-elect Trump’s campaign party. He has emerged as a top ally and was recently appointed to co-lead the new Department of Government Efficiency.
He was even spotted in the celebratory photograph after Trump was declared as the future president for the second time – with this being mainly filled with family members.
When asked at the event about Musk’s lawsuit, Bloomberg reports Altman described it as being “tremendously sad.” He said: “I grew up with Elon as a mega hero.”
Musk and OpenAI have been involved in a lawsuit since March 2024 but this was then dropped in July. However, Tesla’s CEO has reopened the move to bring about an injunction against more entities.
This includes Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, ex-board member Reid Hoffman, the Microsoft Vice President for Technology & Research Partnerships and Operations Dee Templeton, as well as Microsoft itself.
Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram
