Elon Musk Reacts to Sam Altman Driving $2M Sports Car - Newsweek
In a video clip circulating online, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, was recently seen driving one of the world's rarest and most expensive supercars, generating sarcastic and mocking responses from social media users — including none other than his former friend and ex-business partner Elon Musk.
Elon Musk's Response
In this sarcastic exchange, the CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, responded to a post about Altman driving a rare $1.9 million Koenigsegg Regera sports car. Musk's reaction was shared with his vast social media following, reigniting the public interest in their ongoing feud.
On Tuesday, a Tesla fan account on X re-posted the video of Altman driving a white $1.9 million Koenigsegg Regera, which was first posted to TikTok by the user @norcal.garage. The Swedish plug-in hybrid sports car, with a top speed of 250 m.p.h., is sold privately in limited production, with only 80 units made. The resale value can be upward of $3.7 million.
Musk and Altman's Relationship
Musk and Altman's relationship goes back more than a decade, when the two swashbuckling entrepreneurs were making waves in the Silicon Valley startup scene. Musk cofounded OpenAI in 2015 with Altman and 10 others, originally as a nonprofit research organization meant to accelerate artificial intelligence "for the benefit of humanity."
By 2018, Musk had reportedly grown weary of OpenAI's progress, believing it had fallen too far behind rival Google. He proposed taking over the company himself, but Altman and others balked. A power struggle ensued, and Musk eventually walked away — effectively ending his business relationship with Altman.
Legal Battle and Allegations
Despite their past collaborations, Musk sued OpenAI and Altman personally, alleging that they deviated from the initial mission of developing AI for the betterment of society. This legal battle added another layer to their already strained relationship, raising questions about the future of AI ethics and development.
After OpenAI launched ChatGPT to worldwide fanfare in 2022, and Altman became the public face of the AI industry, their relationship soured further. Earlier this year, Musk sued OpenAI and Altman personally, accusing them of "abandoning" the original mission to develop AI for humanity's benefit, rather than as a for-profit enterprise.
Resolution and Future
Despite their personal relationship having deteriorated, Altman invested in Musk's privately held brain-implant venture Neuralink in 2021. (OpenAI and Neuralink had at one point shared office space in San Francisco.)
The next year, Altman and Musk had a reunion of sorts at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, better known as "summer camp for billionaires." Musk was interviewed by Altman, where he reportedly opined on Mars travel and declining birth rates.
The detente was short lived. Last month, Musk fired off a post on X saying that if Apple integrates OpenAI into its product line, as the company has planned, the devices will be banned at his various companies.
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