Elon Musk Accuses Sam Altman of Trying to Steal Apple's iPhone Tech as AI Billionaire Feud Escalates

Elon Musk and Sam Altman are hurling insults at each other again, but this time millions of ordinary Americans have retirement money riding on both men.

The latest round erupted after Apple sued OpenAI on 10 July, accusing the ChatGPT maker of stealing its hardware secrets. Musk pounced on X, branding his rival 'Scam Altman' and claiming he had graduated from 'stealing an open source AI charity' to trying to steal all of Apple's phone technology.

Altman fired back within hours. 'Homeboy you're the one selling public market investors on short-term space datacenters,' he posted, a swipe at the orbital data centres Musk has pitched as a fix for AI's energy demands. The reply drew more than 11 million views.

What Apple Says OpenAI Stole

Apple's 41-page complaint, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that 'at every level, from members of its Technical Staff to its Chief Hardware Officer', OpenAI has been stealing Apple's trade secrets and confidential information.

The filing names Tang Tan, OpenAI's chief hardware officer, who spent roughly 24 years at Apple, accusing him of using confidential Apple codenames in recruiting and directing candidates to bring hardware parts into job interviews. Engineer Chang Liu allegedly downloaded dozens of confidential files covering unreleased products. Jony Ive's io Products, the design firm OpenAI bought in 2025, is also named as a defendant.

OpenAI denied the claims, saying it has 'no interest in other companies' trade secrets'.

Two Billionaires, One Retirement Account

The insults would be routine tech drama except for one thing. Both men now answer to everyday investors.

SpaceX went public on 12 June in the largest IPO in history, raising $75 billion (£56 billion) and closing its first day worth roughly $2 trillion (£1.5 trillion). The company set aside an unusually large slice of the offering for regular people, and retail investors ended up with about 20% of the shares through brokerages including Robinhood, Fidelity, and Charles Schwab, Bloomberg reported.

OpenAI is racing towards its own listing. The company confirmed in June it had confidentially filed draft IPO paperwork, and reports suggest a debut that could value it above $1 trillion (£747 billion). Apple's lawsuit now hangs over that offering, with the iPhone maker seeking damages and a court order to halt the alleged theft.

SpaceX Shares Are Already Sliding

Altman's 'space datacenters' jab hit a sore spot. SpaceX stock has fallen about 32% from its June peak of $225.64 (£168.67) to around $145 (£108.39), and research firm CFRA opened coverage with a sell rating, citing an overly ambitious growth strategy. Morningstar valued the shares at a fraction of their debut price.

The stock joined the Nasdaq-100 on 7 July, meaning index funds, including many US retirement accounts, must now hold it regardless of how the feud plays out.

A Rivalry Headed Back to Court

The two men co-founded OpenAI in 2015 before a bitter split. A federal jury dismissed Musk's own lawsuit against Altman in May, ruling he had waited too long to sue. Musk said he would appeal.

For now, the fight unfolds in posts and court filings. But with SpaceX already sitting in public portfolios and OpenAI queuing to join it, every fresh insult now lands somewhere new. In ordinary Americans' savings.