Elon Musk and Sam Altman are fighting like kids on the playground

It feels like forever ago. The first time I tried ChatGPT, I knew it would change everything. Back in 2022, images of people had seven fingers and every other thing a chatbot spit out was nonsense. I asked Google’s Gemini for a Bible verse and it told me no because the Bible was a copyrighted work. Yikes.

At first, few of us seriously considered AI taking over our jobs, rewriting history or even creating wars. But the tech kept advancing, and then came DeepSeek, an AI model from Communist China. Suddenly, the stakes felt even higher.

In the middle of all this, we have Elon Musk and Sam Altman fighting like two kids on the playground. Before you send me a note asking why I’m talking about politics … don’t.

This is what’s happening in the world and you need to know about it. If it comes up in conversation, you’ll have an educated opinion.

These two go way back

In 2015, Altman was a 30-year-old Stanford dropout who sold his first company for $43.3 million. Musk was already a billionaire, and his companies were churning out Teslas, rocket ships and the first Starlink satellites.

That year, Musk and Altman got together with nine other folks interested in artificial intelligence to start OpenAI. Three years later, in 2018, Musk put in an offer to take over OpenAI and it was rejected. He then left to start his own AI efforts at Tesla.

Fast-forward to 2022, when OpenAI changed the world with ChatGPT. Musk wasn’t about to be left behind; he launched his own AI, Grok, about a year later. It hasn’t gotten nearly the buzz ChatGPT has.

Last year, Musk sued Altman and OpenAI (more on that below). He withdrew the suit and then refiled it a few months later. They’ve been bickering for years.

Now it’s in the global spotlight

Earlier this week, Musk and a group of investors made a $97.4 billion bid to buy OpenAI.

Altman fired back on X, offering to buy Twitter (X’s former name) for $9.74 billion, knowing fully well Musk paid $44 billion for the platform, whose value has since plummeted. Ouch. Musk called him a “swindler” for that one.

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Elon’s future: Autonomous cabs, vans and robot butlers

I know you’ve seen it all over the news. Elon Musk took to the stage at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank to spotlight what he says is the future of transportation … and to show off his army of cowboy-hat-wearing robots. Will any of this make it to production and into our homes? Well, I’ll get to that.

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Kim Kardashian hangs out with $30K Tesla robot

🤖 Kim’s new BFF: Kim Kardashian’s showing off her new Tesla robot on X and Instagram. In one clip, she makes half of a heart with her hand and the bot completes it. In another, she teaches it to blow a kiss and tries the game Rock, Paper, Scissors. Optimus goes into full production by 2026 for $20,000 to $30,000 a pop. I wonder if another Kim K. can get a freebie …

To the moon: The New York Stock Exchange is moving its fully electronic stock market headquarters from Chicago to Dallas. Why? They say it’s because Texas has the most NYSE listings of any state, with over $3.7 trillion in market value. You’d better believe the business-friendly taxes and regulations are a draw, too. Look at Elon Musk. Tesla’s HQ moved to Austin in 2021, and he says X and SpaceX are next.

6 recalls in 12 months

For Tesla’s Cybertruck, which now has a defective drive inverter. Wow, a recall every two months! The faulty inverter may cause a loss of power to the wheels and affects over 2,400 vehicles. Own one? Look for a notification.

Tesla: 'We, Robot' event livestream

I know you’ve seen it all over the news: Elon Musk recently took to the stage at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank to spotlight what he says is the future of transportation — and show off his army of cowboy hat-wearing robots. Will any of this make it to production and into our driveways? Well, we’ll see.

Las Vegas bombing: Matthew Livelsberger, the soldier who blew up a Tesla Cybertruck outside of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, used ChatGPT to build the bomb and coordinate the explosion. OpenAI says they’re “saddened” and that their tool only shared public info and warned him about harmful and illegal activities. This is the first known case of ChatGPT being used for terrorism. It’s not going to be the last.

🚨 Over 660,000 vehicles recalled: Ram, Honda, GM, Volkswagen and Tesla are dealing with headlight malfunctions, fire risks, faulty tailgates, fuel leaks and brake failures. Yikes. Fixes are free. Check your recall status, then call your dealership instead of waiting for a letter in the mail.

It cost him $165,999: A driver bricked his new Cybertruck in less than 24 hours. Only a day into owning it, the truck failed to defrost, wouldn’t shift gears and completely shut down. Its owner spent four hours on the phone with Tesla’s customer service, but the vehicle ultimately had to be towed.

Winter brake: Employees at Tesla’s Cybertruck factory were told to stay home for a few days. This is after weeks of inconsistent schedules and odd assignments. Demand is dipping, and the supposed years-long backlog has dried up. Having six recalls in one year isn’t great for PR.

Tesla has the highest rate of accidents where at least one occupant is killed: The numbers don’t lie. The Model S has a fatal accident rate 4.8 times higher than the average SUV. The fatal accident rate of Tesla’s Model Y is also double that of the average car. It’s sad when you think about how many folks put their full trust in the autopilot features. You’re a fool if you do.

🤖 Kim’s new BFF: Nope, not me Kim — the other Kim K.! Kim Kardashian’s showing off her new butt Tesla robot on X and Instagram. In one clip, she makes half of a heart with her hand and the bot completes it. In another, she teaches it to blow a kiss and tries the game Rock, Paper, Scissors. Optimus goes into full production by 2026 for $20,000 to $30,000 a pop. I wonder if this Kim K. can get a freebie …

😔 Tragic accident: Four people died after their Tesla Model Y crashed into a pillar and burst into flames. A bystander smashed a window open, saving a fifth passenger. So sad. If you have a Tesla, watch this video so you know how to open the doors when there’s no power.

$1,249 a month

Cost to lease a Tesla Cybertruck for 36 months. Put $7,500 down and the payment shrinks to $999 a month. Yeah, even with the gas savings, this is ridiculously expensive.

No. 2 in EV sales

For automaker GM, which sold 32,000 electric vehicles in the U.S. during the third quarter. Ford insists they’re still in the second spot, claiming “GM is adding every brand EV” they sell, including Chevy, GMC and Cadillac. You guessed it — Tesla remains No. 1. You know what they say: 95% of electric cars are still on the road; the other 5% made it all the way home.

One of the hardest parts of owning a $100,000 Cybertruck? Keeping it clean. Its stainless-steel exterior attracts fingerprints and smudges like flies to 💩. Tesla says the car wash is a no-no, and the official $130 detailing kit is sold out. Owners are resorting to window cleaner, baby wipes and good old-fashioned car shampoo (paywall link).

Every 13 miles

How often Tesla’s Full Self-Driving mode requires human intervention. In a 1,000-mile test, drivers had to intervene to prevent dangerous behavior more than 75 times. The good: Self-driving mode brakes for pedestrians and lets oncoming cars through. The bad: It also runs red lights and drives into oncoming traffic. Just say no.

50,000 gallons of water

To put out a Tesla Semi fire. After a crash in California, the truck’s massive lithium-ion battery reached up to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Firefighters had to call in an aircraft to drop fire retardant around the electric semi to make sure the fire didn’t spread.

🅿️ Police are towing Teslas from crime scenes: This is wild. When a Tesla is in Sentry mode, its onboard cameras capture what’s happening around the vehicle when there’s sound or movement detected. Police know that to get the footage, they need access to the USB drive in the glove box. If the owner is MIA, cops get a search warrant and tow the EV into evidence.

🧯 Need a light? A third Tesla Cybertruck in less than a month burst into flames. This time, the EV hit a fire hydrant, apparently damaging the battery pack and sparking a fire.