The rivalry between tech moguls Elon Musk and OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, escalated into a public showdown on X today, with the two billionaires accusing one another of algorithmic manipulation, antitrust violations, and corporate favouritism in the AI industry.
The latest salvo, posted afternoon on Tuesday, has sparked widespread debate among followers and analysts alike, drawing over 3 million views on Altman’s latest retort.
PUNCH Online reported earlier today that Musk, CEO of Tesla and founder of xAI, accused Apple of antitrust violations and claimed the tech giant’s App Store rankings unfairly favour OpenAI—parent company of ChatGPT—making it “impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1.”
Musk said, “xAI will take immediate legal action,” citing Apple’s partnership with OpenAI, announced on June 10, 2024, which integrates ChatGPT into iPhones, iPads, and Macs.
However, Musk’s own X’s community notes challenged his assertion, highlighting that DeepSeek reached #1 on the App Store in January 2025 and Perplexity topped India’s charts on July 18, 2025, post-partnership.
Reacting, Altman alleged Musk manipulated the X algorithm to benefit his company and challenged him to sign an affidavit if he had not done so.
“This is a remarkable claim given what I have heard alleged that Elon does to manipulate X to benefit himself and his own companies and harm his competitors and people he doesn’t like.”
“Will you sign an affidavit that you have never directed changes to the X algorithm in a way that has hurt your competitors or helped your own companies? I will apologise if so,” Altman posted.
The spat is the latest chapter in a long-standing rivalry that began when Musk and Altman co-founded OpenAI in 2015.
Musk left in 2018 and later sued Altman in February 2024, alleging OpenAI breached its nonprofit mission by pursuing profits.
Reacting, X users have called on Musk and Altman to focus on building AI rather than bickering.
