Sam Altman ridicules Tesla over his Roadster refund, Musk responds

Like two toddlers who were somehow given the gift of internet access and infinite money, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are feuding online again.

The latest example of this never-ending conflict was started by Altman on October 30, who shared his failed attempt to cancel the Tesla Roadster. In an X article with screenshots of emails, Altman said he pre-ordered the Roadster in July 2018 with a reservation payment of $45,000. Seven years later, in 2025, he attempted to cancel the reservation and obtain a refund by replying directly to the original reservation confirmation email, which generated an “address not found” error.

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On the one hand, it’s not unusual for a business email address to be changed or expire after seven years. On the other hand, it’s very unusual for a company to ask for a $45,000 down payment on a car and not release it for seven years. So we kind of understand where Altman is coming from.

Musk responded on (Musk was involved with OpenAI early on, but was later sued when the company transitioned to a for-profit business.) The Tesla CEO later said that “the Altman issue was resolved” and that the OpenAI CEO received a refund “within 24 hours.”

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Altman may have picked the wrong time to cancel his Roadster reservation, as Musk recently said Tesla was about to demonstrate a “prototype” of the vehicle, billing it as “if you took all of James Bond’s cars and combining them, it’s crazier than that” – and hinting that it will be able to fly. Then again, this car was originally supposed to launch in 2020, so we won’t be holding our breath waiting for its launch.