Musk, who has been known to have a rapport with former US president Donald Trump, reshared a 2016 post by Y Combinator cofounder Paul Graham that read: “Few have done more than Sam Altman to defeat Trump.” In response, Altman acknowledged: “Thank you, Paul.”
Altman then posted a follow-up, referencing a 2022 article from The Guardian titled: “Elon Musk hits back at Trump and says ex-president should ‘hang up his hat’.” Altman commented: “We were both wrong, or at least I certainly was 🤷♂️ but that was from 2016 and this was from 2022.” He added: “Anyway, see you next week, let’s be friends.”
In response, Musk reposted another 2016 comment from Altman, in which Altman stated: “I am voting against Trump because I believe the principles he stands for represent an unacceptable threat to America.” Musk’s post was accompanied by a single emoji.
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Altman’s shift
Altman’s perspective on Trump has evolved. After Trump’s return to the White House, the OpenAI chief wrote: “Watching @potus more carefully recently has really changed my perspective on him… I wish I had done more of my own thinking and definitely fell into the NPC trap.” Although Altman admitted he still disagrees with Trump on some issues, he now believes the president could be “incredible for the country in many ways.”
Altman’s change of stance coincides with Trump’s launch of Stargate, a $500 billion artificial intelligence initiative aimed at building national AI infrastructure, with support from OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank.
The backstory
Musk, who cofounded OpenAI but later became one of its harshest critics, sued the company last year, claiming it had deviated from its mission to prioritise public benefit over profit. On May 4, OpenAI reaffirmed its commitment to remain under nonprofit control, shelving previous plans to become a fully for-profit entity.
Founded in 2015 as a nonprofit, OpenAI switched to a “capped-profit” model in 2019 to attract investment, with Microsoft becoming its largest backer. However, the company now plans to significantly reduce the share of revenue allocated to Microsoft as part of a broader restructuring, according to The Information.
