OpenAI CEO confident Elon Musk won't use political power to target rivals

Sam Altman Responds to Elon Musk’s Growing Influence and Tensions in the AI Race

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman dismissed concerns that Elon Musk might use his political influence to undercut competitors, including OpenAI, and favor his own artificial intelligence ventures. In an interview at the New York Times DealBook Summit on Wednesday, Altman stated,

"It would be profoundly un-American to use political power to hurt your competitors and advantage your own businesses. I don't think people would tolerate that. I don't think Elon would do it."

Musk has recently become a prominent ally of President-elect Donald Trump and was appointed to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency, alongside former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

However, Altman emphasized that he didn't believe Musk would exploit his political position for personal gain in the AI space.

Despite their differences, Altman acknowledged that Musk's startup, xAI, is a serious competitor to OpenAI.

xAI has made significant strides, raising billions from investors, and Musk's plans to build a data center in Tennessee for his AI efforts are seen as a strong move.

Altman expressed "tremendous respect" for Musk’s work, but also revealed his disappointment over the strained relationship between them.

When asked about Musk’s ongoing lawsuit against OpenAI, Altman called it "tremendously sad," adding, “I grew up with Elon as a mega hero.” This reflects the personal nature of their fallout, as Musk has been pursuing litigation against OpenAI for allegedly straying from its original nonprofit mission.

Despite this, Altman remains focused on OpenAI’s leadership in generative AI, which continues to dominate the market, while acknowledging the growing competition from Musk's xAI.