Tech Titans Clash: Musk Trolls Sam Altman With 'Parole Officer', 'Stole Apple's Phone Tech' Jibes

Last Updated:July 12, 2026, 10:56 IST

The latest exchange comes as OpenAI faces a trade secrets lawsuit filed by Apple, adding fresh attention to the rivalry between the two tech leaders.

The long-running feud between Tesla boss Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has reignited on social media after the Tesla chief accused Altman of “scamming" people. The latest exchange comes as OpenAI faces a trade secrets lawsuit filed by Apple, adding fresh attention to the rivalry between the two tech leaders.

The timing of Musk’s remarks has drawn interest as Apple has accused OpenAI of misusing confidential information related to its future hardware products. Musk has repeatedly criticised Altman’s leadership and OpenAI’s business practices over the years.

The latest spat began after Musk reposted an X post by the account DogeDesigner, which read, “Elon Musk warned the world about Scam Altman. Now everyone is finding out why."

Sharing the post, Musk wrote about Altman, “He takes scamming to a whole new level".

Altman responded with a sharp remark aimed at Musk’s plans for orbital data centres, writing, “homeboy, you’re the one selling public market investors on short-term space datacenters," referring to the SpaceX chief’s proposal to launch data centres into orbit to address AI’s growing energy demands.

Musk hit back, saying, “We start flying them next year. Maybe you can come see them if your parole officer approves. After stealing an open-source AI charity, you then stole all of Apple’s phone technology! Wow. What do you plan for an encore? That’s tough to beat."

Altman later appeared to mock Musk while promoting OpenAI’s latest AI model. Referring to version 5.6 Sol, he posted on X, “There are a lot of benchmarks that suggest 5.6 Sol is the best model in the world right now, but the most reliable way to tell is that Elon is obsessed with me again".

News world Tech Titans Clash: Musk Trolls Sam Altman With 'Parole Officer', 'Stole Apple's Phone Tech' Jibes

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