'Elon is obsessed with me again': Sam Altman mocks Musk's space data centre plans

Elon Musk and Sam Altman's public feud appears to have reignited, with the two tech executives exchanging fresh jabs on Musk-owned social media platform X.

The latest exchange began after Musk dug up and reposted an old post mocking Altman, adding the caption: "Scam Altman is super good at scamming." The post quickly gained traction, attracting millions of views and eventually catching Altman's attention, prompting the OpenAI CEO to respond with a sharp jab at Musk's future ambitions.

Musk had reshared a post by the account DogeDesigner, adding the caption that Altman "takes scamming to a whole new level." The post rapidly spread across X, garnering millions of views.

Responding to Musk's post, Altman wrote: "Homeboy, you're the one selling public market investors on short-term space datacenters."

Musk has not publicly responded to Altman's remark. However, the exchange sparked widespread discussion on X and other social media platforms, with users debating the remarks in replies and discussion forums.

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Adding to the exchange, Sam Altman said that while several benchmarks suggest GPT-5.6 SOL is currently the world's best AI model, Elon Musk's renewed criticism is the strongest endorsement of its success. "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," he wrote.

What are 'short-term space datacenters'?

In his response, Altman appeared to mock Musk's ambitious vision of deploying data centres in space—an idea that has attracted significant scepticism despite gaining renewed attention following SpaceX's recent successes.

Reports suggest that much of Musk's soaring market valuation is tied to his long-term vision of building a self-sustaining colony of one million people on Mars and eventually deploying data centres in space. Ahead of its record-breaking initial public offering and public market debut last week, SpaceX reportedly outlined plans for orbital data centres in investor documents, helping fuel optimism around the company's future and contributing to Musk becoming the world's first trillionaire.

The viability of those plans, however, depends largely on the operational success of SpaceX's heavy-lift Starship rocket. If Starship becomes fully operational next year—as Musk has projected, despite repeated delays to previous timelines—it could dramatically reduce launch costs, one of the biggest obstacles to making space-based infrastructure economically viable.

At the same time, some analysts believe the cost of building and operating Earth-based AI data centres could continue rising due to increasing power, land, and infrastructure constraints, potentially making orbital data centres comparatively more attractive over time.

Altman's remark appears to reference the growing scepticism surrounding the feasibility and timeline of Musk's ambitious space infrastructure plans.

Legal battle between Elon Musk and Sam Altman

The latest social media clash comes months after a court ruled in favour of Sam Altman in his legal battle with Elon Musk.

The lawsuit centred on OpenAI's transition from a non-profit organisation to a for-profit business. Musk alleged that OpenAI, led by Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, had abandoned its founding mission by prioritising commercial interests over developing artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity.

Musk sought to reverse OpenAI's corporate restructuring, remove Altman and Brockman from their leadership roles, and redirect assets from the company's for-profit arm to its non-profit entity.

OpenAI denied the allegations, arguing that Musk had long been aware of its plans to establish a for-profit structure. The company also maintained that it remains governed by its non-profit parent and continues to pursue its original mission of developing AI that benefits humanity.