Sam Altman (샘 알트먼), OpenAI’s chief executive, called the company’s latest model, ChatGPT 5.6, a top-tier artificial intelligence model and again clashed publicly with Elon Musk.

On July 12, Business Insider reported that Altman wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that multiple benchmarks show 5.6 Sol as the world’s top model, but the most reliable way to tell is that Musk is obsessed with him again.

“there are a lot of benchmarks that suggest 5.6 sol is the best model in the world right now, but the most reliable way to tell is that elon is obsessed with me again”

The spat came shortly after Apple filed a trade secret theft lawsuit against OpenAI, its hardware partner io and 2 former Apple employees. In a complaint filed on July 11, Apple alleged OpenAI’s side stole its technical information. OpenAI issued a brief statement saying it has no interest in other companies’ trade secrets.

The lawsuit is tied to OpenAI’s strategy to expand consumer AI hardware. After buying io, a design company run by Jony Ive (조니 아이브) described as a legendary Apple designer, OpenAI has expanded beyond AI software into devices. The lawsuit again highlighted the possibility of a clash with Apple in that process.

Musk kept up attacks on Altman throughout the weekend. On X, he repeatedly called Altman “Scam Altman” and mocked him by saying that after stealing an open-source AI charity, he has now stolen Apple’s phone technology as well. He then asked what would come next and added it would be hard to top that.

Altman hit back right away. He wrote to Musk that the person selling short-term space data centers to public market investors is Musk himself. Musk replied that SpaceX would start launching data centers from next year and mocked that Altman could visit if his parole officer approves.

“We start flying them next year. Maybe you can come see them if your parole officer approves. After stealing an open source AI charity, you then stole all of Apple’s phone technology! Wow. What do you plan for an encore? That’s tough to beat.”

The two have clashed before. Musk and Altman co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but later split over governance, fundraising and the company’s direction, and have been publicly at odds since then. In 2024, Musk sued OpenAI, Altman and Greg Brockman (그렉 브록먼), claiming they misled early donors by converting OpenAI from a nonprofit into a for-profit business. A federal jury did not accept Musk’s claims in May, and he said he would appeal.

Musk founded rival xAI in 2023, and xAI is currently under SpaceX. Altman used Musk’s attacks as evidence of his model’s competitiveness, while Musk used Apple’s lawsuit to again question OpenAI’s ethics and its business expansion strategy.

The latest exchange shows intensifying competition in AI models and a concurrent fight for leadership in consumer hardware. How far Apple’s lawsuit expands into an actual legal dispute and what impact it has on OpenAI’s hardware strategy are expected to be the next points to watch.