OpenAI CEO Sam Altman fired back at Elon Musk on Tuesday after Musk posted on X warning people not to use ChatGPT, linking it to nine suicide deaths.
Altman called out Musk’s claim as misleading and flipped the criticism back, pointing to Tesla’s Autopilot, which has been linked to more than 50 deaths, SFist reported.
“Sometimes you complain about ChatGPT being too restrictive, and then in cases like this you claim it’s too relaxed,” Altman wrote in a three paragraph tweet. “Apparently more than 50 people have died from crashes related to Autopilot. I only ever rode in a car using it once, some time ago, but my first thought was that it was far from a safe thing for Tesla to have released.”
He also jabbed at Musk’s chatbot project Grok, saying the Tesla CEO “shouldn’t be talking when it comes to guardrails.”
The feud comes as Musk sues OpenAI, claiming the company abandoned its nonprofit mission. Musk is reportedly seeking up to $134 billion in damages.
The timing of the spat comes amid heightened scrutiny of AI safety globally.
Just last week, the UK’s Office of Communications, or Ofcom, launched a formal investigation into Musk’s Grok chatbot over the creation of sexualized images of minors. Regulators in Europe are also examining whether Grok violated online safety rules, raising the stakes for Musk as he continues to attack OpenAI publicly.
OpenAI faces multiple lawsuits in California alleging that ChatGPT contributed to suicides, psychosis and financial harm, raising questions about the company’s internal safeguards. Critics say that while OpenAI has implemented guardrails, lapses in oversight and pressure to release products quickly may have exposed vulnerable users to harm.
Analysts note that the Altman-Musk feud is part of a larger battle for public perception in AI.
Musk positions himself as a crusader warning of AI dangers, while Altman frames OpenAI as a responsible innovator trying to manage risk without stifling the technology.
Despite the tensions, OpenAI maintains that it is actively addressing safety concerns and reviewing all lawsuits to understand the full scope of reported incidents.
“This is an incredibly heartbreaking situation, and we’re reviewing the filings to understand the details,” an OpenAI spokesperson said in November. Analysts suggest that how Altman navigates this feud could impact OpenAI’s reputation and regulatory relationships in the coming months.
OpenAI, founded in 2015 as a nonprofit AI research lab, has long been entwined with Musk, who was an early supporter and board member before leaving in 2018.
Musk has repeatedly criticized the company’s approach to AI safety, while Altman and other OpenAI leaders have pursued rapid product development, including the release of ChatGPT and GPT-4o, sometimes at odds with safety researchers who warned about potential risks, Business Insider reported.
This tension between fast innovation and safety concerns has been a recurring theme in the company’s history, highlighted by a wave of high-profile resignations in 2024.
