OpenAI CEO Sam Altman criticises Elon Musk's political influence

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has called it “profoundly un-American” for Elon Musk to use political influence to harm competitors and favour his own businesses. Speaking at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit on Wednesday, Altman emphasised that such actions would not be tolerated.

“I don’t think people would tolerate that,” Altman said, according to reports by Bloomberg.

Musk, who is also the CEO of X (formerly Twitter) and Tesla, has been active in political circles. He is leading a planned advisory commission called DOGE, which aims to recommend significant cuts to federal agencies. Musk, who owns AI company xAI, has also been reported to be involved in shaping the AI policy under a potential Trump administration.

Musk recently filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging the company has deviated from its original mission and engaged in anticompetitive behaviour that harms rivals like xAI. Altman referred to xAI as a 'serious competitor' and expressed regret over the lawsuit.

“I thought what Elon was doing was absolutely incredible for the world, and I have different feelings about him now, but I’m glad he exists,” Altman remarked during the interview.