Elon Musk disputes Sam Altman's Tesla refund claim: 'You forgot to mention act 4'
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has responded to Sam Altman, saying that the OpenAI CEO missed key details.
Elon Musk has hit back at OpenAI CEO Sam Altman after the latter alleged that he paid $50,000 to pre-book a Tesla vehicle in 2018 and never received it.
In an X post, Altman shared screenshots of the email exchanges with Tesla. The first email from July 2018 confirmed the reservation, stating, “We have successfully received your reservation payments. Your reservation is now paid in full.” Another email from Altman, dated 2025, showed him asking Tesla to cancel the booking and refund the amount. A third screenshot suggested that the original Tesla email address he communicated with was no longer active.
“I really was excited for the car! And I understand delays. But 7.5 years has felt like a long time to wait,” Altman wrote while posting the screenshots.
Altman’s post prompted a series of responses from social media users.
What did Elon Musk say?
Now, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has responded to Altman, saying that the OpenAI CEO missed key details. “You forgot to mention act 4, where this issue was fixed, and you received a refund within 24 hours. But that is in your nature,” he wrote. In a follow-up post, Musk added, “You stole a non-profit,” in an apparent reference to the transformation of OpenAI from a non-profit to a capped-profit company under Altman’s leadership.
(Also Read: Sam Altman hits back after criticism over ChatGPT’s ‘adult model’ plan: ‘We are not the elected moral police’)
How did social media react?
The online spat has reignited the long-running tensions between Musk and Altman, who co-founded OpenAI together before parting ways.
The exchange also sparked a flurry of reactions online, with many users responding humorously or urging the two tech leaders to reconcile.
“I really do hope that you guys decide to be friends and work together for the sake of humanity,” one user wrote. “SHOTS FIRED,” another commented.
“Elon, who would win in a fight, you or Sam?” a user joked.
“Elon, you know that you both have similarities to each other in terms of personality traits. The weirder thing is, you both mirror each others traits but call each other out on it,” another commented.
“Is there anyone else you despise more than Sam? Just curious,” asked one X user.
