Apple's Lawsuit Sparks Another Feud Between Musk and Altman

The personal feud between Musk and Altman has lasted for years, and this latest argument has taken on new meaning.

Written by: Li Hailun
Edited by: Xu Qingyang

Musk and Altman are at it again on X. Musk bluntly called Altman a "fraud."

This time, the spark was ignited by Apple.

On July 10, local time in the U.S., Apple filed a lawsuit in a federal court in California against OpenAI, OpenAI's hardware company io Products, and two former Apple employees, accusing them of stealing trade secrets to assist in the development of consumer-grade AI hardware for OpenAI.

OpenAI responded by stating that the company is still reviewing the lawsuit documents, has no interest in the trade secrets of other companies, and will continue to focus on developing innovative technologies. Apple, on the other hand, stated that it will continue to protect the achievements of its employees and the company's innovative assets.

The case has not yet entered substantive hearings, but Musk has already jumped into the fray.

01 Apple Sues OpenAI, Musk Seizes the Opportunity

In the lawsuit, Apple painted a picture far more serious than ordinary job-hopping and specifically mentioned two former Apple employees who have joined OpenAI.

One of them is Tang Tan, who was involved in the design of products such as the iPhone, Apple Watch, and iPod for a long time. After leaving Apple, he joined io Products, founded by former Apple Chief Design Officer Jony Ive, and is currently the Chief Hardware Officer at OpenAI.

The other is former Apple electrical engineer Chang Liu. Apple claims that he participated in highly confidential product development projects and, after leaving for OpenAI, continued to access and download hardware-related files through an Apple device that he had not returned.

Apple also made more serious allegations in the lawsuit: OpenAI allegedly asked job applicants to discuss Apple's internal projects, showcase physical components, and guided some employees to evade exit reviews during the recruitment of Apple employees.

This case quickly caught Musk's attention.

He retweeted related news on X, writing, "Fraud Altman is at it again..." He then continued to post, stating that Altman "has taken fraud to a whole new level" and even "loves fraud more than anyone else."

Musk also posted a photo of Altman with the caption, "I do this because I love it." Musk added that what Altman loves "is fraud."

The "it" refers to AI. In May 2023, Altman testified before the U.S. Senate. When asked about his salary, he replied that his annual salary was only enough to cover health insurance, that he had no equity in OpenAI, and said, "I'm doing this because I love it."

"Scam Altman" has become a recurring term Musk uses to attack Altman.

Then, Altman quickly retaliated.

He pointed to the space data center plan that SpaceX is promoting to investors: "Bro, you're the one pitching short-term space data centers to public market investors."

Musk responded by stating that SpaceX would begin launching related facilities next year and sarcastically remarked to Altman, "If your parole officer approves, maybe you can come see it."

Musk's implication is that he compares Altman to a criminal serving time or on parole. Because he "stole" from the open-source AI charity and "stole" Apple's mobile technology, he should be imprisoned.

Altman then linked this quarrel to the recently released GPT-5.6 Sol from OpenAI.

He wrote that many benchmark tests show GPT-5.6 Sol may be the strongest model currently in the world, "but the most reliable way to judge is that Elon has started obsessing over attacking me again."

OpenAI describes GPT-5.6 Sol as its most capable model to date, focusing on enhancing programming, long-chain agent tasks, biological research, and cybersecurity capabilities; Musk's SpaceXAI also released Grok 4.5 around the same time, targeting programming, agent tasks, and knowledge work.

A legal dispute over trade secrets has ultimately evolved into a model release battle and personal attacks between the heads of two AI companies.

This scene seems absurd, yet it aligns perfectly with the way Musk and Altman have interacted over the past few years.

The two co-founded OpenAI in 2015. As OpenAI expanded its funding needs and established a profit-driven structure, differences arose over control, funding, and development direction. Musk left OpenAI in 2018 and subsequently founded xAI, directly competing with OpenAI.

Since then, their conflicts have moved from the boardroom to the courtroom, and from the courtroom to X.

In May 2026, a jury ruled against Musk in the lawsuit he filed against OpenAI and Altman. Musk stated he would appeal.

Apple's lawsuit against OpenAI has provided him with an opportunity to attack Altman again.

02 A War of Words Unveils Three New Battlefronts in AI Competition

The personal feud between Musk and Altman has lasted for years, and this latest argument has taken on new meaning.

Apple, OpenAI, and SpaceXAI are competing for the same resources: top engineers, consumer entry points, developer ecosystems, computational infrastructure, and capital market trust in the next generation of AI platforms.

This war of words has also revealed three "new battlefronts" forming in the AI industry:

The first battlefront is AI hardware.

OpenAI has primarily relied on ChatGPT and APIs to reach users in recent years, but the software entry has always been constrained by platform companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft.

On mobile, OpenAI needs to go through Apple's and Google's app stores; in the office and enterprise market, OpenAI heavily relies on Microsoft's products and cloud computing systems; when entering personal life scenarios, ChatGPT still runs on devices, computers, and operating systems produced by others.

This is also the direct motivation for OpenAI to enter the hardware field.

In July 2025, OpenAI acquired io Products, founded by Ive, for nearly $6.5 billion, hoping to create a new type of AI device distinct from smartphones and traditional screens. OpenAI's CFO Sarah Friar stated in April this year that the company plans to launch consumer-grade hardware by the end of 2026.

Apple and OpenAI were originally partners.

At Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2024, Apple announced it would integrate ChatGPT into the iPhone. When Siri cannot complete certain complex requests, users can call on OpenAI's model for answers.

As OpenAI began recruiting Apple's hardware executives and engineers and publicly advancing AI devices, the relationship between the two quickly changed. The partner that once helped Apple enhance its large model capabilities is now attempting to create new products that could change the way smartphones are used.

Apple's lawsuit at this time, while directly aimed at protecting trade secrets, is also about preventing competitors from quickly replicating its accumulated hardware capabilities, which relates to control over the next generation of computing entry points.

OpenAI wants to turn AI from an application on a phone into an independent device that can accompany users at all times. Once such a product scales, the smartphone's position as the core entry point to the internet may be affected.

The second battlefront is capital narratives.

Musk attacks Altman for "fraud," while Altman counters with the "space data center"—this choice is not coincidental.

SpaceX completed its IPO in June this year, with data cited by CNBC showing that the company raised $75 billion, with a market value close to $2 trillion after the first day of trading. As xAI is integrated into SpaceX, investors are buying a business story composed of rockets, satellite internet, AI models, social platforms, and computational infrastructure.

The space data center is the most imaginative and controversial part of this story.

Musk hopes to use SpaceX's low-cost launch capabilities and Starlink network to deploy AI computing facilities in orbit, alleviating the power, land, and cooling constraints faced by ground data centers. SpaceX proposes deploying up to 1 million computing satellites, with the first AI1 satellites having a peak power of up to 150 kilowatts.

This plan still lacks large-scale engineering validation. Orbital heat dissipation, equipment maintenance, chip lifespan, launch costs, and data return efficiency could all impact its commercial viability.

Altman's choice to attack the space data center is essentially questioning the most important new growth story for SpaceX after its IPO: how much value does a company valued at nearly $2 trillion derive from its already mature rocket and satellite business, and how much value is bet on unverified AI infrastructure?

OpenAI faces similar issues.

As the company explores going public, its valuation needs to be based on multiple expectations, including the continuous growth of ChatGPT, expansion into the enterprise market, leading model capabilities, and the success of new hardware. Apple's lawsuit could affect the launch timeline of OpenAI's hardware products and may raise new concerns for investors regarding intellectual property, corporate governance, and team stability.

Thus, both parties' mutual attacks target each other's most vulnerable aspects.

Musk questions OpenAI's business ethics and transformation process; Altman questions whether SpaceX's commitment to future technologies can be fulfilled.

The third battlefront is the boundaries of AI companies.

Early large model competition primarily revolved around parameter scale, training computing power, and evaluation scores. Now, the scope of leading companies' expansion has clearly broadened.

OpenAI is simultaneously entering search, browsers, programming tools, office collaboration, enterprise agents, and consumer hardware. Musk is gradually integrating models, the X platform, the Cursor ecosystem, Starlink, and SpaceX's infrastructure.

Large models are becoming foundational capabilities, but what truly determines a company's long-term position also includes how many products the model can enter, how many user relationships it can master, how much computing power it can call upon, and whether it can establish a platform independent of Apple and Google.

What Apple is protecting in this lawsuit goes far beyond a few hardware blueprints.

Over the past twenty years, Apple has built a complete consumer electronics system relying on chips, industrial design, operating systems, supply chains, and app stores. OpenAI is attempting to turn natural language and agents into a new operating interface, reducing users' reliance on traditional screens, app icons, and touch operations.

Musk hopes to embed AI models into social platforms, cars, robots, satellite networks, and space infrastructure.

The three companies have chosen different paths but are competing for the same answer to the question: In the AI era, who can master the first layer of entry between users and the digital world?

Apple's answer remains devices and operating systems, OpenAI bets on models and new AI terminals, while Musk hopes to establish a vertical system from chips, data centers to networks, models, and applications.

In this context, the mutual insults between Musk and Altman have a special communicative value.

They can help both mobilize their supporters, amplify attention to new models, and compress complex technological competition into a personal conflict between two entrepreneurs.

However, a war of words ultimately cannot answer the real questions.

Apple needs to prove that it can continue to guard the consumer electronics entry in the AI era; OpenAI needs to prove that its hardware products have independent value and that the development process can withstand legal scrutiny; Musk also needs to prove that grand plans like the space data center can transition from capital market stories to real engineering.

The next round of their quarrel could start at any time.

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