OpenAI Blocks AI Access for SpaceX-Owned ”Cursor” Amid Escalating Feud with Elon Musk
OpenAI announced on Friday its intention to block access to its artificial intelligence models for Cursor, the coding tool company now owned by Elon Musk's SpaceX. The move marks a fresh escalation in the bitter dispute between Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
In June, SpaceX announced an agreement to acquire Anysphere, the startup behind Cursor, in a $60 billion all-stock deal, completing the acquisition earlier this month.
"We are making this decision because we cannot be confident that SpaceX will use our technology in accordance with our terms of service, based on our experience with Elon Musk’s companies violating contracts," OpenAI stated in a blog post.
Michael Truell, a Cursor co-founder who now holds an executive position at SpaceX, noted that the company is currently in talks with the OpenAI team to resolve the issue.
"Cursor was an early adopter of OpenAI, and we have worked closely with their team for years, trusting their platform as a neutral infrastructure for our business," Truell posted on X on Friday.
Feud Escalates to Courtroom
Musk and Altman have been locked in a years-long conflict that recently escalated into a legal battle. During the trial, Musk's lawyer stated that Musk and other witnesses testified that Altman was a liar, while OpenAI argued that Musk had simply sought to seize control of the company.
Musk, the world's richest person, had previously filed a $150 billion lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing the organization and Altman of "stealing a charity" by abandoning its original non-profit mission in pursuit of personal gain. A federal jury ruled against Musk earlier this year, concluding that the lawsuit was filed past the legal statute of limitations.
In its blog post, OpenAI also alleged that the X platform (formerly Twitter)—noted in the release as now being part of SpaceX—violated its contract terms with OpenAI following Musk's acquisition.
"To work with a large partner like SpaceX, we typically rely on custom contracts to ensure adherence to our terms of service, and that the integration provides the required level of security at scale," the AI firm added.