OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said Wednesday that he is “not that worried” about rival Elon Musk’s growing influence in the incoming Trump administration, despite their ongoing legal disputes and Musk’s escalating presence in the AI sector.
Altman, speaking at The New York Times’ DealBook summit, expressed confidence that Musk, appointed to lead the Trump administration’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), would not exploit his position to harm competitors.
“It would be profoundly un-American to use political power to hurt competitors and advantage your own businesses,” Altman said. “I don’t think Elon would do it.”
Musk’s Role in the Trump Administration Raises Concerns
Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and the newly launched xAI, was tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to co-lead DOGE, a committee aimed at cutting government spending and regulations. The appointment has drawn criticism, given Musk’s concurrent legal battles with OpenAI and his growing interests in the AI sector.
Altman acknowledged Musk’s xAI as a serious competitor but characterized their legal feud as a business dispute rather than personal animosity. “He’s a competitor, and we’re doing well,” Altman remarked.
Legal Battles Intensify Between OpenAI and Musk
Musk, an early investor and former board member of OpenAI, has accused the AI company of straying from its original mission of public benefit by pursuing for-profit goals. Musk escalated his lawsuit earlier this year, asking a federal judge to block OpenAI’s transition into a profit-driven enterprise.
Altman expressed sadness over the strained relationship but remained confident in OpenAI’s trajectory. “I may turn out to be wrong, but I strongly believe Elon will do the right thing,” he said.
The New York Times Lawsuit Adds to OpenAI’s Legal Challenges
OpenAI is also embroiled in a separate legal battle with The New York Times, which, along with other news organizations, has accused the company and its partner Microsoft of copyright infringement. The lawsuits allege that OpenAI used millions of news articles, including content from the Times, to train its AI systems without proper authorization.
During the DealBook summit, Altman defended OpenAI’s practices under the “fair use” doctrine. “If an AI reads something — a physics textbook — it can learn physics, it can use that for other things like a human can,” he argued.
The two parties met in court this week to negotiate evidence-sharing protocols, with depositions scheduled to begin in January.
Altman Critiques The New York Times’ Stance
Despite the ongoing litigation, Altman did not shy away from addressing the lawsuit directly at the summit, hosted by the Times. “I think The New York Times is on the wrong side of history in many ways,” Altman told interviewer Andrew Ross Sorkin, sparking laughter from the audience.
Sorkin quipped in response, “We could discuss and debate that, and we’ll do that, I think, in court.”
