The Elon Musk v Sam Altman battle is a distraction Karen Hao

'If OpenAI lost its footing as the AI industry frontrunner, another barely distinguishable competitor - Musk's xAI or other - would simply replace it.' 'If OpenAI lost its footing as the AI industry frontrunner, another barely distinguishable competitor - Musk's xAI or other - would simply replace it.' If it wasn't already clear, Elon Musk and Sam Altman hate each other. While the two men were once cofounders of OpenAI, they're now locked in a vicious feud, playing out in all its theatrics in front of a judge and jury in a California courtroom. Musk is suing, alleging that Altman and OpenAI president Greg Brockman tricked him into forming and funding the organization as a non-profit before they subsequently restructured it to have a for-profit entity.