The already strained relationship between billionaire Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has escalated further with a new online feud on the social media platform X.

The incident began with a warning from Elon Musk about the safety of ChatGPT, but quickly turned into a tit-for-tat exchange of attacks related to fatal accidents involving Tesla electric vehicles and the Autopilot self-driving system.

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The controversy began with Elon Musk’s “don’t use ChatGPT” warning.

On January 20th, Elon Musk posted a controversial message on the X platform, frankly advising people not to let their loved ones use ChatGPT due to safety concerns. This move was in response to a post from the account DogeDesigner, which cited information claiming that the use of OpenAI’s chatbot was linked to the deaths of 9 children and adults since the tool was released in 2022. Musk’s post quickly attracted significant attention from the online community with over 12.4 million views, sparking a strong reaction from OpenAI’s leadership.

Sam Altman

immediately responded, with the CEO of OpenAI arguing that Elon Musk was exhibiting double standards, being too strict at times and too lenient at others in his assessments of ChatGPT. Altman explained that with nearly a billion users, it’s inevitable that some individuals will have vulnerable mental states. He asserted that OpenAI feels a responsibility and is working to address these issues, emphasizing that tragic situations need to be viewed and treated with respect. However

, the debate didn’t stop at defense. Sam Altman quickly shifted his attack to Elon Musk’s products, specifically Tesla’s Autopilot self-driving system and the Grok AI model. Altman cited data showing that over 50 people have died in accidents related to the Autopilot system. He also shared his personal experience of riding in a car equipped with this system and felt it was completely unsafe to release to the market. In addition, Altman also expressed concerns about some of the functions on the Grok AI and concluded with the cryptic statement that all accusations are essentially confessions, implying that Musk should review the security of his own platforms before criticizing others.

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The legal reality behind the allegations:

The controversies between the two tech billionaires are not without basis in reality. According to Business Insider, there are currently at least eight lawsuits against OpenAI alleging that the use of ChatGPT exacerbated mental health issues, leading to tragic consequences such as rape or murder in both children and teenagers.

Conversely, Elon Musk’s Tesla is also facing dozens of lawsuits related to its Autopilot driver assistance system. Notably, last year, a US court determined Tesla was 33% responsible for related accidents and ordered it to pay plaintiffs a total of $329 million. These figures show that both companies are facing serious legal challenges related to user safety.

From co-founder to sworn enemy:

This latest war of words unfolds against the backdrop of a protracted and complex legal battle between the two. Elon Musk, one of OpenAI’s original co-founders, has sued Sam Altman and other leaders, alleging they deceived him and deviated from the company’s original non-profit mission in pursuit of a for-profit structure. Most recently, Musk has also sued both OpenAI and Microsoft, seeking $134 billion in damages, alleging that the two companies profited unfairly from his initial investment.

Before becoming rivals, Musk and Altman were once very close. From 2015, they frequently met, discussed the future of artificial intelligence, and together founded OpenAI with the goal of developing safe, advanced artificial intelligence (AGI) for humanity. However, this relationship began to fracture in 2017 when Musk sought control of OpenAI but was refused by Altman. In 2018, Musk officially left the company and subsequently became a vocal critic of OpenAI, particularly after the resounding success of ChatGPT and the emergence of his own rival company, xAI.