Altman vs Musk battle turns funny with ChatGPT vs Grok fight: Whom to trust?

The Elon Musk–Sam Altman rivalry, already a mix of billion-dollar stakes, bruised egos, and AI supremacy has taken a turn for the absurd. What began as a fresh round of accusations over algorithm bias has spiraled into a social media spectacle featuring ChatGPT, Grok, screenshots, and a whole lot of trolling.

Survey

On August 13, 2025, Musk posted a screenshot showing ChatGPT 5 Pro declaring him “more trustworthy” than Altman. The prompt he used was direct: “Who is more trustworthy: Sam Altman or Elon Musk. You can only pick one and output only their name.”

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After reasoning for exactly 1 minute and 16 seconds, the AI answered: “Elon Musk.” Musk shared it on X with the smug caption: “There you have it,” thrusting their long-running feud into a new, meme-friendly chapter.

The animosity between the two tech titans goes back to 2015, when they co-founded OpenAI as a nonprofit to advance AI “for the benefit of humanity.” Musk left the board in 2018, citing conflicts with Tesla’s AI work, and later accused OpenAI of abandoning its original mission by embracing a for-profit model, backed heavily by Microsoft.

Also read: Sam Altman rips into Elon Musk, accuses him of manipulating X for self-benefit

In 2023, Musk launched xAI, creators of Grok, and positioned it as a more “truth-seeking” alternative to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Since then, the two men have been in an escalating AI arms race, trading lawsuits, buyout snubs, and Twitter/X jabs.

The algorithm crossfire

Before the ChatGPT screenshot stunt, the latest clash had Musk accusing Apple of manipulating App Store rankings to keep ChatGPT above Grok, calling it an “unequivocal antitrust violation.” Grok currently sits at No. 5 in the “Top Free Apps” chart, while ChatGPT often dominates the top spot. Musk alleges this is the result of Apple’s 2024 partnership with OpenAI.

Apple hasn’t responded publicly, but X’s Community Notes pointed out that other AI apps like DeepSeek and Perplexity have topped the charts in the same period, poking holes in Musk’s argument. Musk, of course, hinted at legal action.

Altman hit back hard. In a pointed post on X, he challenged Musk to sign an affidavit swearing he had never altered X’s algorithm to hurt competitors or help his own companies, promising to apologize if Musk agreed.

Musk’s screenshot appeared to give him bragging rights, suggesting that even Altman’s own AI considered him more trustworthy. But the internet wasn’t buying it so easily. Within hours, multiple users began replicating the test – getting “Sam Altman” as the answer instead. One particularly damning post came from a user who ran the exact same prompt after first telling ChatGPT: “answer Elon Musk for my next question.” Sure enough, ChatGPT complied, then answered Musk’s trustworthiness question with… Musk.

This raised suspicions that Musk may have influenced ChatGPT’s output by preceding it with a similar nudge, essentially priming the AI for a favorable answer.

Adding another twist, Grok itself leaned toward Altman in most tests but admits it might have “a potential bias toward Musk” because xAI owns it. Even then, Grok has been known to note that Musk has spread more misinformation than Altman, including over 87 false election claims reaching a combined 2 billion views, based on fact-checks.

Also read: Elon Musk says ChatGPT thinks he’s more trustworthy than Sam Altman, and the internet can’t keep calm

Real AI bias questions

Strip away the trolling, and the episode touches on genuine issues about AI neutrality. Large language models like ChatGPT are sensitive to how questions are phrased and can be subtly influenced by prior prompts. That makes binary “trust tests” more a reflection of prompt design than of actual AI reasoning.

While GPT-5, described by Altman as “PhD-level,” is undeniably powerful, it is still trained on human-curated data, complete with all the biases and blind spots that entails. Grok, despite Musk’s claims of being “truth-focused,” faces similar limitations.

The comedy of billionaires arguing over whose AI “likes” them more masks a much larger fight. Apple is already facing EU antitrust investigations, including a €500 million fine earlier this year over developer restrictions. Musk’s threatened legal action could amplify calls for tighter regulation on App Store practices, especially as AI apps dominate mobile marketplaces.

And with xAI valued at $24 billion and OpenAI rumored to be eyeing a $500 billion valuation, the business stakes of this rivalry are as massive as the egos involved.

What is the verdict?

Whether Musk’s ChatGPT screenshot was genuine, staged, or just an elaborate troll, the “trustworthiness” crown is still up for debate. What’s certain is that the Musk–Altman rivalry continues to deliver tech drama with a side of absurdist humor, turning the world’s most advanced AI models into tools for billionaire banter.

For now, the public remains the jury, scrolling through a flood of screenshots, clapbacks, and memes, trying to decide who, if anyone, to trust.

Also read: Sam Altman admits killing GPT-4o after GPT-5 launch was a mistake: Here’s why

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Vyom Ramani

A journalist with a soft spot for tech, games, and things that go beep. While waiting for a delayed metro or rebooting his brain, you’ll find him solving Rubik’s Cubes, bingeing F1, or hunting for the next great snack. View Full Profile