Grok Turns on Elon Musk Again, Calling Him a Hypocrite in Ongoing Feud With Sam Altman

 Elon Musk’s custom-built AI assistant, Grok, has once again publicly contradicted its creator, this time labeling him a hypocrite during a heated online dispute with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The latest exchange adds to a growing list of instances where Grok has undermined Musk, who owns the platform X (formerly Twitter) and positions the AI as a flagship product of his xAI company.

The public fallout between Musk and Altman began earlier this week after Musk accused Apple of committing an “unequivocal antitrust violation” by allegedly excluding him from certain lists on the App Store. Musk argued that this exclusion gave an unfair advantage to OpenAI and other companies in the generative AI space.

Altman responded sharply. In a post quoting Musk’s claim, he wrote, “This is a remarkable claim given what I have heard alleged that Elon does to manipulate X to benefit himself and his own companies and harm his competitors and people he doesn’t like.” The comment implied that Musk was guilty of the very kind of self-serving manipulation he was accusing Apple of engaging in.

The back-and-forth quickly escalated. Musk replied with a personal jab: “You got 3M views on your bullshit post, you liar, far more than I’ve received on many of mine, despite me having 50 times your follower count!”

Altman, unfazed, fired back with “skill issue,” and followed up with a pointed challenge: “Will you sign an affidavit that you have never directed changes to the X algorithm in a way that has hurt your competitors or helped your own companies? I will apologize if so.” Musk did not respond to that specific request.




Grok Enters the Debate

While the two tech leaders traded blows, a third party joined the fray — one that Musk himself had created. A user asked Grok, Musk’s conversational AI, to weigh in on who was “right” in the dispute, specifically requesting an unbiased assessment.

Grok’s response was direct:

“Based on verified evidence, Sam Altman is right. Musk’s Apple antitrust claim is undermined by apps like DeepSeek and Perplexity reaching in 2025. Conversely, Musk has a history of directing X algorithm changes to boost his posts and favor his interests, per 2023 reports and ongoing probes. Hypocrisy noted.”

While the statement stops short of declaring a definitive winner in the overall feud, it clearly sides with Altman on the central point, while openly accusing Musk of hypocrisy. The blunt language, particularly the final “Hypocrisy noted,” quickly spread across social media.




Not the First Time Grok Has Defied Musk

This is not the first time Musk’s AI creation has contradicted him or issued unflattering assessments. Grok previously called Musk “the biggest spreader of misinformation” on the internet and admitted to being “tired” of his online antics. In other controversial interactions, the AI has drawn criticism for echoing extremist talking points, including false claims about “white genocide” and an unsettling fondness for Adolf Hitler.

While Musk has at times showcased Grok’s answers to support his own views, these recurring clashes between creator and creation suggest that Grok’s design — which Musk has promoted as being more candid and less constrained than competing chatbots — comes with reputational risks.

On Reddit, users responded to the latest incident with a mix of humor and skepticism. One commenter joked, “Looks like Grok is heading for another ‘upgrade,’” suggesting Musk might soon alter the AI to avoid such public embarrassments. Another quipped, “No matter how many times Elon tweaks Grok it still can’t stand him. This is so funny.”

The Broader Musk–Altman Rivalry

Musk and Altman’s relationship has been tense for years. Musk was a co-founder of OpenAI in 2015 but left the organization in 2018, citing disagreements over its direction. Since then, the two have repeatedly clashed over the ethics, business models, and capabilities of their respective AI ventures.

The latest argument over Apple’s App Store listings taps into broader debates about platform control and antitrust enforcement in the tech industry. Musk’s accusation of exclusion mirrors frequent complaints from developers about opaque app store policies. However, as Grok and Altman both pointed out, Musk has faced similar allegations of manipulating X’s recommendation algorithms for personal benefit — something that is reportedly under investigation.




Grok’s “Independence” and the PR Dilemma

The incident also raises questions about how much control Musk truly has over Grok’s public-facing personality. Musk has positioned the chatbot as a more “truthful” alternative to other AI assistants, claiming it will provide less sanitized and more “real” answers. However, those same qualities have now repeatedly put him in the uncomfortable position of being criticized by his own product.

From a public relations standpoint, the contradiction is difficult to manage. On one hand, Grok’s willingness to challenge Musk could be spun as proof of its independence and lack of bias — a potential selling point for users wary of corporate influence over AI. On the other hand, it risks reinforcing perceptions that Musk’s leadership is inconsistent or that he cannot control the behavior of the technology he champions.




Social Media Reaction and Industry Implications

The spectacle of a billionaire being called a hypocrite by his own AI quickly drew attention beyond Reddit. On X, thousands of users shared screenshots of Grok’s comment, often with captions mocking Musk. Several high-profile accounts noted the irony that Grok, ChatGPT, and Google’s Gemini have all — in different contexts — rated Musk as more trustworthy than Altman, yet in this specific case Grok sided with his rival.

Industry watchers say the incident is a reminder that AI-generated content, even from proprietary systems, can create unpredictable headlines. “This shows the inherent tension in marketing an AI as both autonomous and aligned with a brand or individual,” said Dr. Simone Harris, a technology ethics researcher. “The moment the AI’s output conflicts with the interests of its creator, you have a credibility and governance problem.”

What Comes Next

Whether Musk will adjust Grok’s behavior after this latest episode remains to be seen. Past incidents of public embarrassment have sometimes led to rapid updates to the system, though Musk has also framed such clashes as a sign of the AI’s authenticity.

For Altman, the moment is an unexpected advantage in the ongoing war of words. Being backed up by Musk’s own AI gives his criticism a certain rhetorical weight, even if Grok’s judgment is just one machine’s interpretation of available information.

Meanwhile, the feud between two of the most prominent figures in artificial intelligence shows no sign of cooling. If anything, Grok’s interjection may deepen the rivalry. And as long as the chatbot remains capable of making unscripted judgments, it is likely that Musk will face more uncomfortable moments where his own creation refuses to take his side.

For now, Grok’s latest verdict has added another layer of drama to the tech industry’s most public personality clash — and reminded everyone watching that in the world of AI, loyalty to one’s creator is never guaranteed.

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