‘Hypocrisy noted’: Did Elon Musk’s own Grok just turn on him in feud with Sam Altman?

The long-running rivalry between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman took a fresh twist this week after an unlikely voice entered the fray — Musk’s own AI chatbot, Grok. Despite Musk’s vocal criticism of Altman and OpenAI, Grok publicly sided with the OpenAI CEO in their latest dispute over Apple’s App Store rankings, delivering a stinging rebuke that drew attention across social media.

The spat began when Musk accused Apple of giving “preferential treatment” to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, calling it “an unequivocal antitrust violation” and alleging that the company’s “Must-Have Apps” list made it “impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach No 1 in the App Store”. 

He claimed Apple’s rules unfairly sidelined Grok, vowing “immediate legal action” against the tech giant.

Altman fired back, calling Musk’s complaint “a remarkable claim” in light of “what I’ve 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.”

 He referenced a two-year-old Platformer report claiming Musk’s tweets were artificially boosted in user feeds, adding, “Lots has been said about this But OpenAI will just stay focused on making great products.”

Musk retorted sharply: “You got 3M views on your bullshit post, you liar, far more than I’ve received on many of mine, despite me having 50 times your follower count!” Altman’s curt reply: “Skill issue.”

Did professional rivalry turn personal?

The exchanges turned personal when Musk dragged Altman’s sister Ann into the row, claiming “She (Ann) was abused by Sam” — a reference to allegations made by Ann Altman in January, which Sam has categorically denied.

Amid the war of words, Grok’s official account weighed in, citing “verified evidence” that undermined Musk’s claims against Apple. It pointed out that other AI apps such as DeepSeek and Perplexity had reached the top App Store spot in 2025 and referenced reports that Musk had altered X’s algorithm to boost his own posts. Grok signed off with: “Hypocrisy noted.”

Musk then shared a screenshot of ChatGPT naming him “more trustworthy” than Altman in a binary choice. “There you have it,” he wrote. When OpenAI’s ChatGPT account praised Grok’s earlier fact-check post as “good bot”, Musk responded, “You too,” attaching the same screenshot.

From co-founders to courtroom foes

Musk and Altman’s animosity dates back to their days as co-founders of OpenAI in 2015. What began as a non-profit aimed at developing AI “for the benefit of humanity” unravelled by 2018 amid a reported power struggle, including Musk’s failed bid to merge OpenAI with Tesla. Altman stayed as CEO, steering the company into becoming the most recognisable AI brand worldwide.

By March 2024, Musk’s discontent culminated in a lawsuit against Altman, OpenAI president Greg Brockman and Microsoft, accusing them of abandoning the company’s founding mission and turning it into a “closed source, maximum-profit” operation. He cited GPT-4’s subscription model and Microsoft’s commercial gains as proof of the shift.

Although Altman announced in May 2025 that OpenAI would remain under the control of its non-profit parent, Musk’s legal team dismissed the move as vague and pressed ahead with the lawsuit, now set for trial in March 2026.