OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called the company’s latest model, ChatGPT 5.6, a top-tier artificial intelligence model and again clashed publicly with Elon Musk. On July 12, Business Insider reported that Altman wrote on X that multiple benchmarks show 5.6 Sol as the world’s top model, but the most reliable way to tell is that Musk is obsessed with him again. The spat came shortly after Apple filed a trade secret theft lawsuit against OpenAI, its hardware partner io and 2 former Apple employees. In a complaint filed on July 11, Apple alleged OpenAI’s side stole its technical information. OpenAI issued a brief statement saying it has no interest in other companies’ trade secrets. Musk kept up attacks on Altman throughout the weekend, repeatedly calling him “Scam Altman” and mocking him. Altman hit back, writing to Musk that the person selling short-term space data centers to public market investors is Musk himself. Musk replied that SpaceX would start launching data centers from next year and mocked that Altman could visit if his parole officer approves. The two have clashed before; Musk and Altman co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but later split. In 2024, Musk sued OpenAI, Altman and Greg Brockman, claiming they misled early donors. A federal jury did not accept Musk’s claims in May, and he said he would appeal.