Elon Musk calls OpenAI CEO 'Scam Altman' amid ongoing lawsuit

The war of words between Elon Musk and Sam Altman is getting sharper by the day. The ongoing legal battle between Musk and OpenAI has taken a new twist, with the Tesla and SpaceX chief publicly slamming Altman online.

On Monday, Musk referred to Altman as “Scam Altman,” escalating an already bitter feud. The dispute centres on allegations around the company’s shift from a non-profit mission to a more commercial model.

“Scam Altman and Greg Stockman stole a charity. Full stop,” he wrote, also mentioning OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman.

He accused both Altman and Brockman of betraying him and turning OpenAI into a profit-driven business.

According to a Reuters report, Musk is seeking a staggering $150 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, one of its largest investors. The report, citing a person involved in the case, said any proceeds would go to OpenAI’s charitable arm.

It was also reported that Musk wants OpenAI to revert to a nonprofit, for Altman and Brockman to be ⁠removed as officers, and for ‌Altman to be removed from its board, among other measures.

"Greg got tens of billions of stock for himself and Scam got dozens of OpenAI side deals with a piece of the action for himself, Y Combinator style. After this lawsuit, Scam will also be awarded tens of billions in stock directly...I could have started OpenAI as a for-profit corporation. Instead, I started it, funded it, recruited critical talent and taught them everything I know about how to make a startup successful FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD," read Musk's X post.

"This lawsuit has always been a baseless and jealous bid to derail a competitor," OpenAI said in a statement in this matter.