OpenAI announced Friday it will halt AI model access for Cursor, the coding startup now owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, escalating a long‑standing feud between the two tech titans.
OpenAI Cuts Ties with Cursor Amid Musk Feud
The decision follows OpenAI’s claim that SpaceX cannot meet its contractual terms, citing past breaches by Musk’s companies.
OpenAI said it notified SpaceX of a contract wind‑down and set a shutdown date of Nov. 12, the latest permissible under the agreement.
The dispute dates back to Musk’s 2018 exit from OpenAI’s board and his 2022 acquisition of Twitter, later rebranded as X and merged into SpaceX, which OpenAI says violated its terms.
Cursor cofounder Michael Truell posted on X on Aug. 28 that OpenAI models power roughly 5% of Cursor traffic and that the company is negotiating a resolution.
Anthropic cofounder Tom Brown responded the same day, saying his firm, already a SpaceX partner, will boost compute to support Claude models for Cursor.
Musk replied on X, dismissing OpenAI’s statement with “I couldn’t care less,” and called Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman “untrustworthy” and accused them of stealing an open‑source nonprofit.
The legal battle intensified when Musk filed a 2024 lawsuit alleging OpenAI breached its founding charter by moving toward profit‑driven operations and misusing $38 million in donations.
He also claimed Microsoft’s involvement in 2023, after Altman’s brief ouster, pressured the board to remove dissenting members.
In Oakland federal court, Altman testified that OpenAI remains committed to its original mission of benefiting humanity, while accusing Musk of abandoning the organization to launch his own for‑profit venture, xAI.
The jury ruled on May 18 that Musk’s claim was barred by the statute of limitations, ending the trial.
Reuters contributed reporting.
