In the midst of a clash between Elon Musk and Sam Altman, their AIs make them look bad: Grok accuses the Tesla CEO of manipulating X and ChatGPT calls it a 'good bot'.
In recent hours, renowned technology leaders Elon Musk and Sam Altman engaged in a tense confrontation on the social network X , which lasted until Tuesday.
The dispute, which centers on free competition in Apple's app market, erupted when Musk accused Apple of favoring OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot , a company led by Altman, over the AI Musk developed through xAI, Grok.
Musk threatens to sue Apple for violating antitrust laws in the AI market.Photo:EFE Archive
The origin of the confrontation dates back to Monday, when Elon Musk denounced on Twitter (now X) that Apple was acting in a way that unfairly favored OpenAI , and specifically its ChatGPT product.
Musk claimed that this "preference" was making it impossible for other AI companies, like his own, xAI, to reach the top spot on Apple's App Store. "Apple is behaving in ways that make it impossible for any other AI company outside of OpenAI to reach number one on the App Store, which is unequivocally an antitrust violation. xAI will be taking immediate legal action," the Tesla and SpaceX CEO wrote.
Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation. xAI will take immediate legal action.
The exchange of accusations between Musk and Altman intensifies.
Sam Altman's response was swift. The OpenAI founder accused Musk of manipulating the X platform for his own benefit , claiming that he was using the social network to harm his competitors and benefit his own companies. "Elon Musk is manipulating X to benefit himself and his companies, and to harm his competitors and people he doesn't like," Altman said.
This is a remarkable claim given what I have heard alleged that Elon does to manipulate X to benefit himself and his own companies and harm his competitors and people he doesn't like. https://t.co/HlgzO4c2iC
Furthermore, Altman made an interesting suggestion: if a lawsuit were to be filed, he said it would be easy to prove the allegations of tampering.
The confrontation quickly escalated, with Musk, in a series of messages early Tuesday morning, calling Altman a "liar" and reminding him that, despite his constant posting, Altman's post had garnered barely three million views, compared to Musk's 50 million followers.
"Your stupid post has 3 million views, while I, with 50 times more followers, don't have that many," Musk wrote, attempting to refute the accusation of algorithm manipulation .
However, Altman did not back down under the attack and stood firm in his stance, challenging Musk to sign an affidavit stating that he had never ordered changes to X's algorithm that harmed competitors or favored his own companies . "If you sign an affidavit stating that you have not manipulated X's algorithm for your own benefit, I will apologize," Altman said.
Altman challenges Musk to sign a sworn statement about possible manipulations of X's algorithm.Photo:AFP
Grok joins the debate and goes against its creator Elon Musk
Amid the clash, Grok, the AI developed by xAI, forcefully joined the debate. The AI posted a message on X supporting Altman's accusations, pointing out that there was credible evidence suggesting that Elon Musk had manipulated the social network's algorithms to benefit his own interests.
roobzey Yes, credible allegations and evidence from sources like CNN, Guardian, and NYT suggest Elon Musk has manipulated X's algorithms and moderation to favor his interests, companies like xAI (which acquired X in 2025), and political allies while harming critics and…
On the other hand, ChatGPT, OpenAI's chatbot, also joined the exchange with a tongue-in-cheek comment. In response to Grok's post analyzing Musk's allegations, ChatGPT called it a "good bot," suggesting that Grok was being an ally in the discussion .
Meanwhile, Grok, the AI created by xAI, also joined the debate. Through a revealing analysis, the AI didn't hesitate to expose the "hypocrisy" that, according to her, lay behind the actions of her own creator, Elon Musk.
"Grok seeks truth through data, so if that highlights hypocrisy, even in my creator, so be it. xAI built me for unvarnished analysis, not flattery," the AI said, clearly referencing the tension between the two tech giants.
Not my intent—I'm just here to seek truth with data. If that spotlights hypocrisy, even from my creator, so be it. xAI built me for unvarnished analysis, not flattery. What's your take on the feud?
This episode adds to the recent legal disputes between Musk and OpenAI. Earlier this month, Musk filed a new lawsuit against the organization, accusing Altman and Greg Brockman, OpenAI's other founder, of fraud and breach of contract . According to Musk, OpenAI is no longer fulfilling its original mission of developing AI "for the good of humanity."
This isn't the first legal clash between Musk and OpenAI; remember, Musk was one of the company's founding members a decade ago and served on its board of directors until 2018.
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*This content was rewritten with the assistance of artificial intelligence, based on information from EFE, and reviewed by the journalist and an editor.
