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Sam Altman and Elon Musk once started OpenAI together — but now their relationship is a lot more complicated.
In an interview with The Free Press on Thursday, Altman said his OpenAI cofounder was "clearly a bully" and said that Musk's high-profile feud with his former company had become a "sideshow."
Since stepping down from OpenAI in 2018, Musk has been highly critical of the AI startup and CEO Altman.
The Tesla boss refiled a lawsuit in August, arguing he had been "deceived" into starting the company by Altman and fellow cofounder Greg Brockman.
Musk has also asked a federal court to block OpenAI from transitioning into a for-profit entity, with OpenAI firing back by releasing a cache of emails showing Musk pushed for the AI startup to be for-profit while working at the company.
In the interview, Altman described Musk as a "legendary entrepreneur" who did a lot to help OpenAI in its early days.
"He's also clearly a bully, and he's also someone who clearly likes to get into fights," added the OpenAI CEO, pointing to the billionaire's high-profile spats with Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates.
Altman also said he believes much of Musk's animosity is rooted in OpenAI's recent success and the fact that he now runs a direct competitor.
Musk announced xAI, his own AI startup, last year, and the company has since released several versions of its chatbot Grok.
"Everything we're doing, I believe Elon would be happy about if he were in control of OpenAI," said Altman.
"He left when he thought we were on a trajectory to certainly fail, and also when we wouldn't do something where he had total control over the company," he added.
Altman's comments come as Musk prepares to occupy an increasingly prominent role in the second Trump administration. Though Musk will have an influential political position, Altman said he did not believe Musk would use his power to go after his rivals.
"I think there are people who will really be a jerk on Twitter who will still not abuse the system of the country," he said.
OpenAI and Musk did not respond to requests for comment, sent outside normal working hours.
