Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the president-elect’s pick to head the new Department of Government Efficiency, speaks at the America First Policy Institute in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024.
The possible political influence of Elon Musk under the future Trump administration is not a cause for concern OpenAI CEO Sam Altman— who rejected claims that X’s owner would use the law to stifle competition.
While sitting for a year New York Times DealBook Summit, CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin emphasized Wall Street Journal article it suggests that Altman and other tech titans like Jeff Bezos are worried about Musk’s relationship with President-elect Donald Trump.
“Maybe I’m wrong. “I strongly believe that Elon will do the right thing and that it would be very un-American for Americans to use political power to the extent that it exists to harm competitors and benefit your own business,” Altman replied. .
“I don’t think people would put up with it, and I don’t think Elon would do it,” he added.
ELON MUSK SUES OPENAY AND SAM ALTMAN AGAIN
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said he’s not particularly concerned that X owner Elon Musk is using his political influence to stifle the competition. (Photo by Brandon Bel/Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/Getty Images)
Altman also said that while there are “a lot of things to dislike” about Musk, he “doesn’t really care” about the political right because it conflicts with the values he believes the tech billionaire holds dear.
In February, Musk filed a lawsuit against Altman, accusing his company OpenAI of violating its own mission by partnering with from Microsoft.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Musk withdrew the lawsuit in June after a conversation in Big Sky, Montana. According to people who witnessed the interaction, the couple allegedly embraced.
Musk re-filed the lawsuit in August, adding that OpenAI executives manipulated him into co-founding the company by exaggerating concerns about the risks of artificial intelligence (AI).
SEN. ERNST SENT LETTER TO MASQUE, RAMOSWAMY, DETAILS AREAS DOGE COULD CUT COSTS
PHOTO FILE: Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, speaks at the Wall Street Journal Digital Conference in Laguna Beach, California, United States, on October 18, 2017. (REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo/Reuters Photos)
He later added Microsoft to the lawsuit and alleged that the tech conglomerate had formed a monopoly by partnering with OpenAI.
Trump has appointed Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the newly created team Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to stop wasteful government spending.
Trump’s statement said DOGE “will provide advice and guidance from outside the government and will work with the White House and the Office of Budget and Management to implement sweeping structural reform and create an entrepreneurial approach to government that has never been seen before.”
In a Wall Street Journal opinion, Musk and Ramaswamy noted that they will work “as third-party volunteers, not federal officials or employees.”
