In an interview Wednesday at the New York Times' Dealbook Summit, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that X and Tesla CEO Elon Musk are “hurting competitors.” He said it was “deeply un-American” to use political influence for the sake of the United States. and “advantage” [his] own business. ”
“I don't think people would tolerate that,” he said, according to Bloomberg.
Musk, along with Vivek Ramaswamy, heads DOGE, an advisory committee that will recommend deep cuts to federal agencies. Musk, who owns OpenAI competitor xAI, will reportedly provide input to President Trump if he decides to appoint an AI policy director.
Musk has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing the company of abandoning its mission and harming rivals like xAI through anticompetitive behavior. Altman, who called xAI a “serious competitor” in an interview, called the lawsuit “very sad.”
“I thought what Elon was doing was really incredible for the world. I have mixed feelings about him right now, but I'm glad he's still around,” Altman said.