Elon Musk explodes: Calls Sam Altman a 'scam' artist who 'looted' a charity for OpenAI billions

Elon Musk unleashed a blistering attack on OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, branding him a "scam artist" who "looted" a nonprofit charity he helped fund, escalating their long-simmering feud into federal court.

This stems from escalating tensions between Tesla/SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman.

On April 26, 2026, Musk sued OpenAI (and Altman) in San Francisco federal court, accusing them of betraying their nonprofit roots.

Musk claims OpenAI was founded as a charity in 2015 — with his $44 million donation — to develop safe AGI for humanity, but Altman "looted" it by shifting to a for-profit model, pocketing billions via Microsoft investments (now valued at $157B+).

Altman fired back on X, calling Musk's claims "incoherent" and a "frivolous attack."

The lawsuit revives their 2018 fallout, when Musk quit OpenAI's board over direction disputes.

In a lawsuit filed Friday in San Francisco federal court, the Tesla and SpaceX chief accused Altman and OpenAI of betraying their 2015 founding mission as an open-source nonprofit dedicated to safe artificial general intelligence (AGI) for humanity.

Musk, who donated $44 million, claims the group pivoted to a closed-source for-profit model in 2019, securing billions from Microsoft — now valuing OpenAI at over $157 billion — while sidelining public benefit.

"Scam Altman and Greg Stockman stole a charity. Full stop," Musk posted on X on April 28, attaching the 120-page complaint alleging breach of contract and fraud.

The suit seeks to force OpenAI back to its nonprofit roots and block its corporate restructuring.

Scam Altman and Greg Stockman stole a charity. Full stop.

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… https://t.co/R27ZeG9nNR

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 27, 2026

Altman responds: 'Incoherent', 'frivolous'

Altman dismissed the claims as "incoherent" and "frivolous" in an X response, noting Musk quit the board in 2018 over disagreements and launched rival xAI.

"We've been transparent," Altman wrote.

The rift traces to 2018 board tensions, revived by OpenAI's explosive growth via ChatGPT.

Legal experts say Musk faces hurdles proving "looting," but the case spotlights AI governance debates amid rapid industry consolidation.

OpenAI, now a capped-profit entity, defends its shift as necessary for scaling AGI safely.

A hearing is set for May 15.