The Altman-Musk Feud Is Back: Musk Says Altman ‘Takes Scamming to a Whole New Level,’ Altman Mocks His SpaceX IPO

The tech moguls took to X to rip each other apart again, this time over Apple’s lawsuit and Musk’s SpaceX IPO.

By Jonathan Small | edited by Dan Bova | Jul 14, 2026
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Days after Apple sued OpenAI for allegedly stealing its trade secrets, Elon Musk and Sam Altman are back to beefing, the New York Post reports. Musk revived his longtime nickname for his rival on X, writing that “Scam Altman” has taken”scamming to a whole new level.”

Altman fired back, saying Musk was the real scammer for his recent SpaceX IPO. “homeboy you’re the one sellling public market investors on short-term space datacenters,” he said

The lawsuit accuses OpenAI and its hardware chief, a former Apple executive, of stealing trade secrets to build its own devices. It lands just two months after a jury rejected Musk’s own $150 billion lawsuit against OpenAI, clearing the company’s path toward a massive IPO. Musk’s AI venture xAI has since filed separate trade-secret suits against both OpenAI and Apple.

The two co-founded OpenAI together in 2015 before Musk’s exit and years of legal warfare. The public sniping is a reminder that Silicon Valley’s biggest rivalries are personal as much as they’re financial.

Days after Apple sued OpenAI for allegedly stealing its trade secrets, Elon Musk and Sam Altman are back to beefing, the New York Post reports. Musk revived his longtime nickname for his rival on X, writing that “Scam Altman” has taken”scamming to a whole new level.”

Altman fired back, saying Musk was the real scammer for his recent SpaceX IPO. “homeboy you’re the one sellling public market investors on short-term space datacenters,” he said

The lawsuit accuses OpenAI and its hardware chief, a former Apple executive, of stealing trade secrets to build its own devices. It lands just two months after a jury rejected Musk’s own $150 billion lawsuit against OpenAI, clearing the company’s path toward a massive IPO. Musk’s AI venture xAI has since filed separate trade-secret suits against both OpenAI and Apple.

The two co-founded OpenAI together in 2015 before Musk’s exit and years of legal warfare. The public sniping is a reminder that Silicon Valley’s biggest rivalries are personal as much as they’re financial.

Jonathan Small Founder, Strike Fire Productions

Entrepreneur Staff
Jonathan Small is a bestselling author, journalist, producer, and podcast host. For 25 years, he... Read more
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