Sam Altman once called Elon Musk his hero while defending OpenAI‘s mission to prevent Google from monopolizing artificial general intelligence. The exchange, surfaced by Internal Tech Emails, and part of court documents from Musk v. Altman (2026), captures the complexity of their relationship before it deteriorated into one of tech’s most bitter feuds.“Well, you’re my hero and that’s what it feels like when you attack OpenAI,” Altman told Musk in the conversation on February 18, 2023. Despite acknowledging OpenAI had “screwed some stuff up,” he maintained the company prevented unilateral AGI control—a goal both men supposedly shared. “I am tremendously thankful for everything you’ve done to help—I don’t think OpenAI would have happened without you,” Altman added, before revealing the damage: “and it really fucking hurts when you publicly attack OpenAI.“
Musk apologizes but invokes “fate of civilization”
Musk’s response acknowledged the hurt: “I hear you and it is certainly not my intention to be hurtful, for which I apologize, but the fate of civilization is at stake.” His justification didn’t land well with Altman, who questioned how Twitter attacks served civilization and asked for specific suggestions on what OpenAI should do differently.The conversation also revealed talent wars between their companies. Altman checked with his team about recruiting from Tesla, assuring Musk that OpenAI does “very little relative to the size of the company.” He promised not to hurt Tesla, calling it “obviously a super important company.”
Altman and Musk went from cofounders to courtroom adversaries
This conversation happened years before their relationship completely fractured. The two launched OpenAI in 2015 to develop AI “in the way that is most likely to benefit humanity as a whole,” but Musk departed in 2018 after cofounders rejected his proposal to run the company solo.Now they’re locked in legal warfare. Musk has filed multiple lawsuits alleging OpenAI abandoned its nonprofit mission, with a federal racketeering trial scheduled for March 30, 2026. Their rivalry extends to valuations—SpaceX is planning an $800 billion secondary share sale to reclaim the top spot from OpenAI’s recent $500 billion valuation. Musk now calls Altman “Swindly Sam” on social media, while Altman questioned whether Musk is “a happy person” and said he wishes Musk would “just compete by building better products.“
