Elon is 'rude, mean' but his superpowers helped OpenAI, says Sam Altman on Musk's exit

When OpenAI introduced ChatGPT in November 2022, it practically introduced the world to what AI can actually do. OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, and its CEO, Sam Altman, gained widespread recognition thanks to the chatbot’s soaring popularity. It made Sam Altman the poster boy for generative AI.

Over time, details about the company and its CEO began to surface, revealing Elon Musk had also been involved in the founding of OpenAI a few years prior. However, Musk departed in 2018, well before its groundbreaking success with the revolutionary AI chatbot.

In recent months, Musk and Altman have engaged in public exchanges of the differing opinions that both of them have held since 2018. Musk has repeatedly expressed concerns about ChatGPT, while Altman, speaking at an MIT event in April, remarked that the letter signed by Musk and other tech experts calling for a pause on AI development “lacked technical nuance about where we need the pause.”

Nevertheless, Altman has now acknowledged Elon Musk’s exceptional qualities and contributions during OpenAI’s early days.

Altman on Musk’s “superpowers”
During a recent appearance on the In Good Company podcast, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shed light on Elon Musk’s early contributions to the organization.

Altman stated, “Elon was definitely a magnet for talent and attention, without a doubt, and he also possesses some remarkable abilities that were incredibly valuable to us during our initial stages.” While Altman didn’t specify these “superpowers,” venture capitalist Marc Andreessen recently outlined the psychological traits that make Musk “the paramount example” of an entrepreneur who is always in high gear.

Musk going against OpenAI
Elon Musk’s dissatisfaction with OpenAI became increasingly evident earlier this year as the company’s value surged following the launch of ChatGPT, which rapidly became one of the most widely adopted products in history.

In February, Musk expressed his concerns on Twitter, stating, “OpenAI was created as an open source (which is why I named it ‘Open’ AI), non-profit company to serve as a counterweight to Google, but now it has become a closed source, maximum-profit company effectively controlled by Microsoft.”

Sam Altman, while acknowledging that OpenAI has taken an unconventional path in many respects, disputes this characterization of the partnership with Microsoft. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has also shared a similar viewpoint. However, in a May interview with CNBC, Musk articulated his concerns by saying, “I do worry that Microsoft actually may be more in control than say the leadership team at OpenAI realizes.”

‘Musk is a jerk’ says Sam Altman
Sam Altman’s comments about Elon Musk have been somewhat varied. In May, Altman mentioned during a speech in London that learning from Musk about what is achievable had been extremely beneficial, describing it as “super valuable.”

However, during an appearance on the On With Kara Swisher podcast in March, Altman expressed a less flattering view, stating, “I mean, he’s a jerk, whatever else you want to say about him—he has a style that is not a style that I’d want to have for myself.”

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