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Elon Musk warns his companies would ban Apple devices after OpenAI deal: ‘Unacceptable security violation’

By
Reuters
Published June 10, 2024, 7:40 p.m. ET

Billionaire Elon Musk said Monday he would ban Apple devices at his companies if the iPhone maker integrates OpenAI at the operating system level.

“That is an unacceptable security violation,” Musk, who is the CEO of electric-vehicle maker Tesla and rocket maker SpaceX and owner of social media company X, said in a post on X.

“And visitors will have to check their Apple devices at the door, where they will be stored in a Faraday cage,” he said.

Elon Musk
Elon Musk said he would ban Apple devices at his companies if the iPhone maker integrates OpenAI at the operating system level. REUTERS
iPhone
“And visitors will have to check their Apple devices at the door, where they will be stored in a Faraday cage,” he said. AFP via Getty Images

Apple and OpenAI did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comments.

Earlier in the day, Apple announced a slew of AI features across its apps and operating platforms and a partnership with OpenAI to bring the ChatGPT technology to its devices.

Apple said it had built AI with privacy “at the core” and it would use a combination of on-device processing and cloud computing to power those features.

Apple CEO Tim Cook on Monday
Apple said it had built AI with privacy “at the core” and it would use a combination of on-device processing and cloud computing to power those features. Apple CEO Tim Cook on Monday, above. Getty Images

“It’s patently absurd that Apple isn’t smart enough to make their own AI, yet is somehow capable of ensuring that OpenAI will protect your security & privacy!” Musk said on X.

At the beginning of March, Musk had sued OpenAI, which he co-founded in 2015, and its CEO Sam Altman, saying they abandoned the startup’s original mission to develop AI for the benefit of humanity and not for profit.

Sam Altman at Monday's Apple event.
OpenAI’s Sam Altman at Monday’s Apple event. Musk had sued OpenAI, which he co-founded in 2015, saying they abandoned the startup’s original mission to develop AI for the benefit of humanity and not for profit. AP

Musk has also founded his own startup, xAI, in a bid to challenge OpenAI and build an alternative to the viral chatbot ChatGPT.

xAI was valued at $24 billion in its last funding round, where it raised $6 billion in series B funding.