--- title: "Trump Showing Love to Sam Altman Is Clearly Driving Elon Musk Into a Jealous Fury" description: "Tech billionaires Elon Musk and Sam Altman are trading increasingly petty blows online as the race for Trump's favor heats up." date: "2025-01-23" modified: "2025-01-23" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/trump-altman-musk-fury" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "donald trump" - "elon musk" - "sam altman" - "the digest" --- # Trump Showing Love to Sam Altman Is Clearly Driving Elon Musk Into a Jealous Fury ![Tech billionaire Sam Altman stands stoically with his back turned to a larger, laughing Elon Musk]() *\Image: Chip Somodevilla / Andrew Harnik via Getty / Futurism\* ## Sticks and Stones This week, tech rivals Elon Musk and Sam Altman have been [falling over themselves]() to win the favor of returning president Donald Trump. The petty squabble started on Tuesday, when an aggrieved Musk took to social media to put down Trump's just-announced $500 billion AI project, "[Stargate]()." Altman's OpenAI was a prominently-featured partner in the project while Musk's xAI was passed over, with Trump [calling Altman]() the "leading expert based on everything I read." That didn't sit well with Musk, who [fumed online]() that OpenAI doesn't "actually have the money" for the project. Altman [shot back]() that Musk was "wrong, as you surely know," and [invited him]() to "come visit the first site." Is it skin-crawlingly embarrassing to see adults publicly grovel for the affection of a [daddy figure]()? Absolutely — but in the uneasy new world of the tech industry under Trump, it's probably going to be par for the course. ## Best Boy Musk then doubled down by reposting a 2021 screenshot of a [tweet by Altman]() in which the OpenAI CEO praised efforts to keep Trump from being reelected in the 2020 election. For good measure, he kept reposting and replying to anti-Altman posts well into Wednesday night, with his usual insightful commentary: "[Wow]()" and "[True]()." "Altman literally testified to Congress that he wouldn’t get OpenAI compensation and now he wants $10 billion!" Musk [quote tweeted]() one *Reuters* article. "What a liar." Why is Trump's embrace of Altman getting so deeply under Musk's infamously thin skin? The [two have a history](), but the main issue lately is clearly that Musk spent [hundreds of millions of dollars]() to get Trump reelected, while Altman is a johnny-come-lately to the Trump Train — and already reaping the benefits. The rift is likely to be one of many we'll see in the months to come as the wealthy and powerful flock to the Oval Office to win the privilege of Trump's ear. That said, it's unlikely any will be quite as dramatic as that between Musk and Trump, an unlikely alliance between two notoriously difficult personalities that seems liable to fall apart at any moment. Altman, who has a more subdued profile and who's mostly let Musk rage without reply throughout the tiff, finally caved earlier today with a cutting [subtweet](): "just one more mean tweet and then maybe you'll love yourself." **More on posting:** [*Elon Musk Once Said He Mainly Tweets While Pooping, So We Now Have Grave Concerns About the Condition of His Gastrointestinal System*]() ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()